


Keitor Month 2020

by demiboy_demon



Category: Voltron Legendary Defender
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Keitor Month 2020, M/M, We have the power of Keitor and Satan on our side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:22:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 31,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22073224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demiboy_demon/pseuds/demiboy_demon
Summary: My collection of works for Keitor month 2020 put into one book because I hate clutter. I hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Keith/Lotor, Keitor - Relationship
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60
Collections: Keitor Month 2020





	1. Day One: Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor doesn’t understand this Earthling holiday, but Keith seems to enjoy it, so he attempts to participate. Or: the paladins explain Christmas to Lotor.

“And what,” Lotor asked, “Is the point of this?”

“It’s Christmas!” Pidge said cheerfully, hanging a colored orb onto a tree.

“And why are we celebrating it?” 

“Because it’s fun,” Shiro said. “And it’s good for team bonding.”

“And it’s the best time for holiday treats!” Hunk added, walking into the room with a plate of Earth cookies.

“I like it because it reminds me of home,” Lance said, wrapping a gift in colorful paper with an amazing amount of difficulty.

“It’s an integral part of Earthling culture,” Allura chimed in. “Keith’s been teaching me all about how it was stolen by the Christians so they could replace a holiday called Yule.”

“Keith,” Shiro sighed, “Please promise me you won’t start that debate again this year.”

Keith shrugged and sat down next to Lotor. He began braiding tinsel into Lotor’s hair. “I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.”

“You say it every year.”

“Well, it’s true every year.”

“Is this a routine thing?” Lotor asked.

“Ever since Adam taught him about Christmas’s roots when he was little.”

Lotor turned his head back to Keith. “I bet you were adorable.”

“I was.”

“However, I was asking about ‘Christmas.’ Is it a routine holiday?”

“Yeah.” Pidge answered. “Humans celebrate it every year. Not every human, just ones who want to. It’s become less of a religious tradition and more of a secular celebration. My family celebrates Hanukkah, too.”

“From what Keith’s explained to me, it’s sort of like the Altean winter festival,” Allura explained. “Gifts are exchanged, songs are sung, etcetera.”

Lotor nodded. He decided not to remind the princess that he had never been to an Altean winter festival, only read about them. 

“Yeah!” Lance cheered. “Guess who just finished wrapping his gifts! Loverboy Lance!” 

“Nice!” Hunk said, “What did you get everyone?”

Lance wagged a finger back and forth. “Nuh uh. It’s a surprise.”

“You wrapped them out here with everyone watching,” Keith pointed out, tying Lotor’s braid in place with a bow. 

“No one was paying attention.” 

“I just don’t get it.” Lotor said. “There’s nothing to celebrate. It’s just merriment for the sake of merriment.”

Hunk walked over to him and held out his plate of Earth cookies. “Maybe these will change your mind.”

Lotor didn’t see how an Earth cookie could make him understand the reasoning behind the revelry, but he didn’t want to offend Hunk, so he took one. 

Lotor took a bite and then looked at Keith. “I’ve changed my mind. These ‘cookies’ in of themselves are a good enough cause for merriment.”


	2. Day Two: Half Galra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lotor gets sucked into an alternate reality, he finds that his reality is... different, to say the least. Or:  
> Alternate Reality Allura: oh my, what a gentleman  
> Lotor: thanks but I am literally doing the bare minimum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic doesn’t fit the prompt 100 percent because it was originally going to be Lotor feeling awkward around 80s Keith and not knowing why, then realizing his mannerisms are different since he’s not half Galra, but then I remembered how badly Allura was treated in the 80s version and the fic sort of went off the rails. 
> 
> #NotAllLotors

“Lotor!” Keith’s voice rang through Lotor’s ship. “Where are you? You’re completely off our radar.”

“It’s like you’ve dropped completely out of this universe,” Pidge whispered in the background. “I think… I think you’ve gone into a different reality. But the communicators still work...”

Lotor sighed. He knew it was a risk, but he had thought the precautionary measures he had taken would be enough to keep him in the proper reality. “Have we fallen into this one before?”

“Negative,” Pidge answered, now at their full volume, “This is a new one.”

“If you’d like, one of us can try to enter the reality so you won’t be alone.” Hunk offered. 

“No,” Lotor declined, “There’s a chance you would fall into a different part of this universe, or a different universe all together. It’s safer for you all to work on it from that side while I figure out how to get back from here.”

“Sounds good,” Keith said, “Make contact with us again if you need our help or if you figure out a way to get back before we do.”

Lotor nodded. “Will do. Goodbye for now, my love.”

Pidge made a gagging sound through their com. “You guys are so gross.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Hunk butted in.

“Literally no one asked.”

“Guys!” Keith scolded. “See you later, Lotor.”

Lotor’s coms went silent. He looked around his ship. Empty space as far as the eye could see, with some stars not too far to his left. 

‘I suppose I should work on getting home,’ Lotor thought, starting a route toward the stars. Where there was light, there was often a planet nearby that supported life. 

After a few Vargas of flying, Lotor came across-

“The castle of lions?” Lotor whispered to himself. “It must belong to the paladins of this reality. Maybe they can help me get back to mine.”

Lotor flew over to the castle. “Hello,” He broadcasted out to it, “My name is Lotor. I am from a different reality and need help getting back. May I please come in to your castle?”

After a moment of waiting, Lotor watched as a door opened along the side of the castle, an open invitation for him to come aboard.

Once he was aboard the castle, Lotor stepped out of his ship and removed his helmet. He looked around him and saw that he was in a ship landing with the lions of Voltron, but none of the paladins. 

“Hello?” Lotor called out, “Is anyone here?”

Five people jumped out from behind a lion, the shortest of whom was screaming in a language Lotor didn’t understand (he wondered if it was perhaps the child’s own language that existed only to them, or if it was a language that existed in this reality and not Lotor’s.)

Lotor scanned the group in front of him. There was a man in a vest who Lotor recognized as Hunk, a man in a turtleneck who looked like Lance, and two people Lotor didn’t recognize. One was still screaming, the other one had not begun. The last person looked familiar, but it took Lotor a moment to realize who it was. 

“Keith?” Lotor asked, “Is that you?”

“What’s it to ya?” The new Keith asked angrily. 

‘Now that’s a mullet.’ Lotor thought.

Lotor raised his hands in surrender. “Apologies for my intrusion. I-”

“Lotor!” One of the unidentified people yelled at him. He had a bad Swedish accent, unless that’s what Swedish accents sounded like in this reality. “You dare try to capture the princess once again?”

“No!” Lotor assured him, “I am not here to cause any problems. I-”

“What’s with the get-up?” The man Lotor assumed was Lance said. “You look like even more of a clown than usual.” 

‘That’s very rude,’ Lotor thought. ‘I can’t be too different in this reality.’

“Like I was saying, I am not your Lotor. I am from a different reality. I was working with the paladins of Voltron on patching an interdimensional hole when I was sucked through into your universe.”

Keith gathered his paladins into a group, although he didn’t lower his voice. “Listen here, gang. Do we trust him?”

“I don’t trust him as far as I throw ‘em!” The tiny one shrieked.

“Shh!” The Swedish one scolded, even though his voice was at a volume Lotor could easily hear. 

“I say we trust him,” Lance said, “He’s taller than our Lotor, and he’s got a British accent.”

‘What the quiznack is a british?’ Lotor wondered to himself.

“And he hasn’t even tried to kidnap Allura yet, so that’s a good sign.” Hunk said. 

‘Kidnap?’ Lotor thought, ‘Is that what they think of me?’

“I don’t know...” Keith said, “He’s Galra. And I don’t see how any version of Lotor could be trustworthy.”

‘Is this Keith not half Galra?’

“C’mon, Moody,” Lance said, “If he ends up being evil, we can beat him up!”

Keith sighed. “You’re right, Lance. We’ll trust him. For now.”

The paladins turned around to face Lotor. Keith stuck out his hand for Lotor to shake. “The name’s Akira, but you can call me Keith. I’m the black paladin of Voltron, the defender of the universe.”

Lotor shook Keith’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“This here’s Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven.”

Lotor choked on his breath and started coughing. “That’s Pidge?”

“Yeah!” Pidge screeched. “What about it?”

“Nothing. I was just surprised,” Lotor explained, “In my reality, Pidge is taller, and also not a male cowboy gremlin.” 

Pidge puffed out their chest, seeming pleased at Lotor’s description of them.

Lotor looked at Sven. “And what lion do you pilot?”

“Blue,” Sven answered. 

“Then what lion does Princess Allura pilot?”

The paladins looked to each other and burst out laughing. “Good one, Lotor!” 

Lotor frowned. “I wasn’t joking. Is the Princess not on your side in this reality?”

“No, no,” Keith assured him, “She is. She’s just... ya know. A princess.”

Lotor decided that he did not like this Keith, and it wasn’t just the hair and jumpsuit. “May I speak to her? She may be able to help me return home.”

The paladins looked to each other, seemingly trying to decide whether Lotor was serious. 

“Are you sure you’re not just going to kidnap her?” Lance asked.

Lotor felt his frown deepen. “I’m sure. Does that happen often?”

“Yeah,” Hunk said, “Lotor’s always trying to kidnap the princess to be his bride.”

“That’s terrible,” Lotor said.

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed, “He’s already got a ton of girls in his harem. Even Allura’s cousin Romelle’s in there.”

“Allura and Romelle are cousins?” Lotor asked. “How does that work? Isn’t Allura ten thousand years older than Romelle? And they bear no resemblance.”

Keith laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

Keith went off to find the princess, leaving Lotor with the paladins. 

“So,” Hunk said, “What are we like in your reality?”

“Well,” Lotor began, wondering how much he should tell, “Pidge is taller. And they have a feminine voice that decidedly is not one of a hellion. And they speak in full sentences, most of which don’t contain screaming of any kind.”

Pidge screeched. “He sounds like a chump!”

“They, not he,” Lotor corrected to the confused faces of the paladins, “And Hunk is shorter and...”

‘Better,’ Lotor thought, but didn’t say as to not disrupt the already fragile peace. 

“And fatter,” Lotor settled on. “Lance seems about the same, just less obviously bisexual.”

“Bisexual?” Lance asked, “What’s that mean?”

“It means you’re attracted to every gender, but not equally. The first time my reality’s Lance saw me, he told me I was a ‘hottie,’ which I was assured is a compliment.”

“What the quiznack?”

“Good to know the curse words span across multiple realities.” Lotor continued, “Sven doesn’t exist.”

“Rude!” Sven chimed in.

“And Keith...” Lotor said, hoping his face didn’t show his infatuation. “In my reality, he has much better hair and doesn’t wear a jumpsuit.”

He decided not to say anything else. He had told them what he had in order to maintain the peace, but didn’t feel it necessary to share any more. Better not to risk compromising his reality. 

Luckily, no one asked anything else because at that moment, Keith walked in with a man with a mustache and a woman in a pink dress.

It took Lotor far longer than he’d like to admit to figure out that those people were Coran and Allura.

Lotor bowed quickly before returning to his upright position. “Princess Allura.”

“Lotor?” She asked. “You look different. And you’re not trying to k-”

“Kidnap you?” Lotor guessed, “I’ve gotten that quite a lot today. As I’ve explained, I am not your Lotor, but a Lotor from a different reality. I fell into your reality while working with Voltron on an interdenominational hole. I am not interested in kidnapping you.”

Allura furrowed her brow, looking taken aback. “And why did you want to speak to me?”

“Because I need your help to get back to my reality.”

A gasp went through everyone. Lotor stared at them. “Is something the matter?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” Coran said, “The princess can’t help you get back.”

“I think you’re mistaken.” Lotor said, growing fed up with their blatant disrespect for their princess, “I require the help of Princess Allura to leave. Unless you allow me to speak with her, I will never leave. You all with have to deal with me forever, and I sincerely doubt that’s what you all want.” 

Lotor smiled, making sure that it looked both charming and that they could see his fangs. 

“Nonsense,” Allura said, “I may not be able to help you, but a princess is always polite to her guests. Coran, could you please ask Nanny to make some tea?”

“Of course, Princess.”

Lotor was led through long, winding halls and into a tea room. Allura’s nanny gestured to one of the poufs. “Please, sit.”

Lotor sat. He was not ashamed to admit that he was afraid of nannies. He figured it had something to do with past experience, but didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole right then.

Allura’s nanny poured both Lotor and Allura tea and then began fussing over Allura’s hair. “Princess, are you sure you wish to be alone with him?”

“I’m sure, Nanny.”

“Alright. But I’ll be right outside the door. Shout if you need anything.” Nanny left the room but didn’t close the door. She stuck her head back inside. “No funny business, you two.”

Allura’s nanny left Lotor’s line of sight. 

“I’m afraid I can’t help you get back to your reality,” Allura said.

“That’s alright,” Lotor assured her. “My allies are working on a way to get me back.”

The two sat in silence for a few ticks while they drank their tea. Lotor identified it as juniberry and lavender. 

“This tea is lovely-” Lotor began.

“Am I in your reality?” Allura interrupted, “What am I like?”

“Yes,” Lotor said, happy to have a conversation point other than his current predicament, “But you’re considerably...”

‘Taller, more badass, stronger... and there are a lot of visual differences, too.’ Lotor thought. 

“Different.” He settled on.

“How so?”

“In my reality,” Lotor said, “You’re the leader of the Voltron coalition.”

“Am I?” Allura asked, seeming amazed at the thought. 

“You are. You’re also a powerful fighter and an amazing warrior. You command respect, and people listen to you.”

Allura smiled at him. “You sound fond of her. Are you two together?”

Lotor laughed. “No, no, no. Princess Allura is not interested in romance, and I have a boyfriend.”

Allura frowned, looking confused. “A boyfriend? Like.. a friend who is a boy?”

“No, like a girlfriend, but a man.”

“Is that allowed?”

“In most of the galaxy, but we don’t care whether it’s allowed or not.”

The princess took a moment to process the concept of homosexuality. “Alright. What’s his name? Is he in this reality?”

“He is, although I’m not very fond of this reality’s version of him. To be fair, I’m not too fond of anyone in this reality. Other than you, of course. Maybe Pidge, but they’re a gremlin.”

“He stole my underwear once at the lake.”

“Then I don’t like them, either.”

“Who is your boyfriend, then?” 

“Keith.”

“Keith?” Allura stood up in alarm, looked embarrassed, then sat back down. “Apologies. It’s just that in my reality, Keith is my boyfriend.”

“Is he a good one?” Lotor asked. 

“That depends on your definition of good.”

“Does he listen to what you have to say? Does he see you as a person worth his time and energy? Is he willing to compromise on things you disagree on?”

“The second one.”

Lotor bit his lip. He was used to holding his tongue about important things. He didn’t want to insult the princess. 

Lotor’s wrist armor began beeping. “That would be my Keith.” 

“May I see him?” Allura asked, “I’d love to see what my love looks like in your reality.”

Lotor thought for a moment. “I suppose. But I’ll need to speak to him in private, so only for a moment.”

Lotor stood and held out his arm. He pressed it and watched as Keith’s red tinted face popped up. 

“Lotor, babe! Pidge and Allura figu- who the quiznack is that?”

“Yes,” Lotor said, “Ah, well, this is Princess Allura.”

“Are you Keith?” Allura asked Keith’s image. “You look different than my Keith. No offense, of course.”

“None taken.” Keith turned to Lotor. “Why the fuck did you think it was a good idea to find the Allura of that reality? What kind of butterfly effect ripple will that have?”

“Rather ironic for you of all people to lecture me on brashness,” Lotor teased, “But no need to worry. I didn’t say anything about our universe that they shouldn’t know.”

“Why’d you find them in the first place?”

“I wasn’t purposefully seeking them out, but once I did find them I figured that they could help.”

“Could they?”

“Unfortunately not,” Allura said, “But I must say, your Lotor is quite the conversationalist. The Lotor I know doesn’t care far so much for pleasant conversation. He prefers galaxy wide domination.”

“Thanks. Lotor’s pretty cool. Could he and I speak in private for a moment?”

“Of course!” Allura said before she left the room. 

“Like I was saying,” Keith continued once Allura was gone, “Pidge and Allura figured out how to get you back.”

“Lovely. Will you give them my thanks?”

“Sure. You need to be back at the rift in one varga. Allura says she can keep it open for one-hundred and twenty ticks at the most, so you need to be quick.”

“Alright, I can do that.” Lotor paused, “Did you know Allura and Romelle are cousins?”

“What?” Keith asked, “I thought Romelle was, like, 16. Isn’t Allura 10,000? Is that not the case in that reality?”

“I thought it would be rude to ask. She’s got enough on her plate with how everyone treats her.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know that Earth thing you were telling me about where women are seen as lesser because of their gender?”

“Sexism?”

“Yes, that. I think that’s what’s happening here.”

Keith frowned. “That’s awful. But I’m sure any version of Allura can handle herself. It’s not your job to solve that reality’s problems.”

“The version of you in this reality is... what is it that Hunk always says when he’s talking about that difficult colony, Zorlof? A piece of work?”

“Yes, that’s what he says,” Keith confirmed, “But Love, you-”

Lotor kept ranting, beginning to pace back and forth. “And the me in this really apparently keeps attempting to kidnap the Princess!”

“Really? Is he evil or something? You said the paladins were sexist, maybe he’s trying to help her?”

“Either way, she’s not interested. Good Lord,” Lotor groaned. “I should kill him for insulting my character. He’s what people in this reality know as Lotor.” 

“Lotor,” Keith sighed, “I completely understand why you’re angry, I would be, too. But you can’t solve another reality’s problems. Please just focus on getting back.”

“He doesn’t deserve her! None of them do!” Lotor responded, pulling on his hair in frustration. “All this Lotor cares about is galaxy wide domination! And even if he wasn’t such a creep, he doesn’t even care that she doesn’t like him! He keeps kidnapping her! And he’s barely the worst one.” 

“Lotor!” Keith shouted, effectively snapping Lotor out of his rage, “I know you care a lot. What’s happening in that reality is upsetting and you have a right to be upset. But think about what’s going on in our reality. We need you.”

Lotor took a deep breath. “You’re right. Thank you, Keith. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Be at the rift in one varga. Bye.”

Lotor sat back down on his pouf and downed the rest of his tea. He eyed Allura’s, then decided against it. 

Allura leaned into the room. “Can I come back in now?”

“Oh! Of course!”

Allura sat back down on her pouf. 

“So,” Lotor asked, “If you’re not allowed to run the coalition or pilot a lion, what do you do?”

“I rule Altea on planet Arus.”

“And what do you do for that?”

Allura shrugged. “Just normal princess things, I suppose.”

“You mean that you’re-” Lotor cut himself off. He was about to say ‘entirely useless,’ but he didn’t think that would be fair to her. “Not allowed to help the coalition at all?”

“Last time I tried, Coran spanked me.”

‘He what?!’ Lotor thought. 

“And no one did anything?” Lotor asked, barely believing his ears. 

“They all laughed at me,” Allura said sadly. “They thought that because I’m the princess, I shouldn’t put myself in danger.”

‘It seems like they’re the ones she’s in danger from,’ Lotor thought. 

“But…” He said instead, “The princess’s job is to help her people.”

Allura shook her head. “That’s a paladin’s job. They don’t think I’m capable.”

Lotor frowned. He knew that he shouldn’t say what he was about to say, but... Keith hadn’t said he couldn’t. He had told him that he had to come back, not that he had to come back alone. 

Plus, Keith couldn’t possibly expect him to leave anyone in a situation where that was considered acceptable (not to mention laughed at.) 

“Princess Allura,” Lotor asked her, “Would you like to come back to my reality with me? You would be respected and treated the way you deserve to be treated. As a person. No one would kidnap you or hit you or humiliate you, because you don’t deserve to be treated poorly. Please, come back with me.”

Allura blinked at him. “You want me to come with you.. but not as your bride?”

Lotor shook his head. “I have a wonderful boyfriend. I’m not interested in you romantically or sexually. But if that’s what you want, I’m sure there are several people in my reality who would love to be with you. With your consent, of course.” 

Allura nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll go with you, if you’ll have me.”

Lotor beamed. “Wonderful. Thank you for hearing me out.”

He stood and help Allura do the same. “Keith said that the portal back to my reality would be done in a few dobashes. We’ll have to be quiet and stealthy in order to not attract suspicion.”

Lotor let Allura lead him to her room so she could gather her things, then to the ship bay. He helped her board his ship. 

“What a gentleman,” She said. 

“No problem,” Lotor responded. 

The take off went off without a hitch. It wasn’t until they were out of the castle that someone realized that Allura and Lotor were both gone.

“Hey!” Pidge’s grating voice came from behind Lotor’s ship like nails on a gremlin-sized chalkboard. 

“Quiznack!” Lotor cursed, typing a command into his ship for it to go faster. 

“He is trying to kidnap the princess! We never should have trusted him!” Keith’s voice shouted.

Lotor wasn’t going to say anything. It would probably be better for the paladins to believe that he was kidnapping her, in case the paladins managed to stop them from leaving, the Princess wouldn’t be blamed. 

Lotor’s plan went out the window when Allura grabbed his speaker. “He’s not kidnapping me! I’m going with him willingly!”

“What?” The paladins spoke in unison.

“He’s brainwashed her!” Lance said. 

“He didn’t brainwash me! He opened my eyes to the truth. You all treat me terribly. I deserve to be respected.”

“We just want to keep you safe,” Keith said, “And to do that, sometimes we need to do things you don’t like!”

“That’s nonsense and you know it,” Lotor said. “Allura is coming with me of her own free will because you all had the chance to treat her with dignity and you chose not to.” 

“This is unacceptable!” Sven said, “We need Voltron to stop him.”

Lotor accelerated to full speed and soared away. 

“Boys! It’s time to foooooorrrrrrmmmm Voltron!”

Lotor kept flying while Voltron did their excessively long form Voltron routine. 

‘Is it really necessary for it to be so long?’ Lotor often wondered, ‘We get it, Voltron, you’re a robot made of five smaller robots. It’s terribly inefficient.’

But just this once, Lotor was grateful for the painstaking length of the routine. He and Allura were able to go through the rift just before Voltron was able to catch up. 

“We did it!” Allura cheered as the rift closed back up behind them. “We’re in your reality!” 

Lotor looked around his ship. He was surrounded by the yellow, green, and black lions. In the near distance was the castle of lions. Lotor silently hoped that they were back in his reality. 

He pressed the speaker button. “This is Prince Lotor. Am I speaking to the paladins of Voltron from my original universe?”

“Affirmative,” Pidge’s normal, non-gremlin voice confirmed, “We’ll meet you back at the castle.”

“Good to have you back,” Keith said.

“Good to be back.”

Lotor stepped out of his ship and took off his helmet. He barely had time to look around the bay when Keith crashed into him. It took Lotor a moment to process that Keith was hugging him, but he began hugging back as soon as he realized what was happening. 

“Are you sure this is the correct reality?” Lotor laughed, “My Keith would never hug me in front of everyone.”

“Shut up,” Keith ordered, punching Lotor in the side. Lotor was thankful for his armor, lest one of his four kidneys be injured. “We thought we wouldn’t be able to get you back. I was worried, smartass.”

“No need to worry. I’m here now,” Lotor paused, “Er, we’re here now.”

Keith backed away from Lotor, looking confused. “Who’s we? You and your ship?”

“Not exactly. Allura?”

“Yes?” Lotor’s reality’s Allura asked.

“No, not you,” Lotor said, “The other one.”

“Me?” The other Allura asked, popping her head out of the ship.

“Yes,” Lotor called back, gesturing for her to come down to the paladins. “These are the paladins of my reality.”

Lotor was grateful for the silence that came with everyone’s shock, and was sad when it was over and everyone erupted into chaos.

“Who the fuck is that?”

“He said it was Allura... you don’t think?”

“Holy quiznack!”

“Is that me?”

“Why the hell did you bring another Allura?”

“Why is she white?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What was the reasoning behind this?”

“What the quiznack?”

Lotor held up a hand to silence the paladins. It didn’t work, so he waited for them to tire themselves out. 

“This is Princess Allura,” Lotor explained once the paladins has stopped shouting all at once and began berating him one at time. “One of two that are now in this reality.”

“We already have an Allura,” Shiro pointed out, as if no one else had realized that. 

“I, for one, am all in favor of keeping her.” Lance interjected.

“She’s not a stray animal,” Keith said, “We can’t ‘keep her.’ She’s a person who belongs in her reality.”

“If I may,” Alternate reality Allura spoke up, “I would very much like to stay here. If you send me back to my reality, I have no idea what they’ll do.” 

“Are they evil or something?” Hunk asked. 

Other reality Allura shook her head. “No, but I’d rather not face the anger of Coran, Keith, and Nanny after running away.”

“I get being scared of an angry Keith,” Pidge said, “But I don’t think Coran would look scary even if you coated him in latex and gave him rabies.”

“That sounds pretty scary to me,” Hunk said.

“Coran in Allura’s reality is... rather different,” Lotor explained while Alternate Allura walked around and examined the paladins. 

“Who are you, then?” She asked Pidge.

“I’m Pidge.”

“Thank you for not screeching at me.”

Pidge adjusted their glasses as they often did when upset or confused. “What.”

Alternate Allura moved on to Shiro. “You’re attractive. Much better than Sven.”

“Thanks?” Shiro responded, scratching the back of his neck, “I think.”

Alternate Allura walked past Hunk and Lance (much to Lance’s disappointment) and to original reality Allura. “Are you me?”

Original Allura frowned. “Yes, I am Princess Allura.”

“Lotor’s told me such amazing things about you. Are you really the leader of the coalition? Do you really know how to fight? And you boss people around even though you’re a princess? And Coran and Nanny let you do dangerous things without spanking you?”

A gasp went up among the paladins. 

“That seems... wrong.” Hunk whispered to Pidge. 

“Based on my research,” Pidge said, “It is.” 

“What research?”

“Research that says that that’s not how you treat a grown woman.”

Original Allura luckily kept her composure. “I am the leader of the Voltron Coalition and I do know how to fight. I’m a better fighter than most of the paladins.”

“Wow,” Alternate Allura said, clearly awestruck by her counterpart. 

“I prefer the term delegate to boss. When men tell people what to do, they’re seen as good leaders, but when women do it we’re seen as bossy. But yes, I do tell people what to do. And as the princess and the blue paladin, I have no choice put to put myself in harms way as often as I do.”

Original Allura paused for a moment to think about what to say next. “I don’t have a nanny. But even if I did, it’s never okay to hit someone. Coran would never do that to me.”

“Nanny isn’t in this reality?” Alternate Allura asked.

Original Allura shook her head. “No. But I can introduce you to Coran if you’d like.”

Alternate Allura nodded eagerly. “That would be lovely!”

Original Allura led Alternate Allura off to find Coran, leaving Lotor alone with the paladins. 

Keith looked up at Lotor. Lotor braced himself for a lecture on why they had to return Allura, but it didn’t come.

“I feel like after that, we have to let her stay,” Keith said, “It’s not like we can send her back to a place where people treat her like that.”

“I agree,” Shiro said, “Maybe we could drop her off on a nice refugee planet or something if her being here causes a problem, but we can’t send her back.”

“We should ask our Allura if she’s okay with it,” Pidge said, “But I’m all for it. I’ll call Matt and see if he needs any more rebel fighters.”

“I can contact the Blade and see if they’d be willing to let her partake in the trials of Mamora,” Keith suggested.

“I’m relieved you’re all on board,” Lotor sighed in relief, “But the trials of Mamora will probably kill her, so let’s not do that.”

“Good call,” Keith grumbled.

“Good lord of facial hair!” Lotor heard Coran’s voice call from the other room. 

“We should go check that out,” Lance said, “Other Allura’s probably shaved off Coran’s mustache so he’ll look more like hers.”

“That Coran did have a mustache,” Lotor informed Lance, who brushed off the information quite rudely. 

“Whatever. Let’s still go check it out.”

They found Allura, Allura, and Coran sitting in a room not unlike the tea room in Alternate Allura’s former castle, but with a different layout and differently colored poufs.

“We have a tea room?” Hunk asked, “This opens up so many dining opportunities.”

“Has this room always been here?” Lotor inquired, “My map of the ship doesn’t include it.”

“You mapped the ship?” Pidge demanded, “When?”

“Narti did it before we met,” Lotor answered, “When I was fighting you all. Would you like a copy?”

“Heck yeah I want a copy! This castle is a maze!”

“That’s not important,” Hunk interjected, “We have a quiznacking tea room! I’m going to get started on coconut bread as soon as I figure out what to use instead of coconut!”

Coran cleared his throat to bring everyone’s minds back to the matter at hand. Lotor noticed that small Balmeran flowers had been carefully braided into his mustache. 

This used to be a storage room, but I was in the middle of transforming it when Princess Allura introduces me to the other Princess Allura. Lotor, m’boy! Thank you for bringing this lovely guest to our reality. She and I have just had the most intriguing conversation about gardening. Our Allura never wants to talk about gardening with me.”

“Coran.” Original Allura scolded.

“Someone’s a bit bossy,” Alternate Allura giggled. 

“No need to worry, Princess,” Coran addressed original Allura, “You’re still first in my heart.”

“That wasn’t what I was saying,” Original Allura assured him, “I was simply trying to tell the paladins the good news-”

“I’m going to join the rebel fighters!” Alternate Allura squealed. “With Chip!”

“Matt,” Original Allura gently corrected, “Pidge’s brother is named Matt in this reality.”

“Oh, right,” Alternate Allura laughed, “Oops. But Lotor, I wanted to say thank you. 

‘I was literally doing the bare minimum,” Lotor thought.

“No need to thank me,” He said instead, “Anyone in my situation would have done the same.”

Alternate Allura shook her head. “No, they would not have. You are truly a good person.”

Lotor couldn’t help but blush at the praise (and pretend not to notice Lance’s snickering.) ‘Good Person’ was not something often used to describe him. “Oh, um. You’re welcome.”

Keith looked up at Lotor fondly. “You are a really good person.”

Keith reached up and pulled Lotor’s face down to kissing level. Lotor ignored Alternate Allura’s excited (and Pidge’s mildly disgusted) noises as he and Keith kissed.


	3. Day Three: Cooking (AKA Keith Accidentally Makes Heroin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tries to bake a cake.

Lotor awoke to a smell he hadn’t smelled in years. It was the smell of burning hair.

Lotor groaned and reached over to his boyfriend‘s side of the bed. Unsurprisingly, Keith wasn’t there. 

“Keith, Love?” Lotor called out. “What in the Empire are you doing?”

Keith didn’t answer. Lotor sighed. “Curse his human ears, however cute they may be.”

He left the bedroom without making the bed or opening the curtains like he usually did, hoping to get to the kitchen before Keith had burned it down with whatever experiment he was working on.

“Good morning, my love,” Lotor said when he found Keith in the kitchen surrounded by seemingly random ingredients. “What are you doing?

“Oh, Lotor! You’re up.” Keith greeted, “Good. I was lonely.”

Lotor walked over and smothered a flaming bit of salt with a pot lid. “A bit early to burn down the estate, don’t you think?”

“Haha. I’m baking Shiro and Adam’s wedding cake,” Keith answered as he measured liquid from an unmarked red canister and poured it into a pan.

Lotor frowned and moved the pan away from the stove, lest it burst into flames. “Why were you put in charge of this task? You are by far the worst cook I know. I’m mildly sure that no cake recipe uses this much salt.”

“That’s quinine,” Keith explained, “And I’m making the cake because Shiro wants me to be his best man.”

“I’m not entirely sure that that’s one of the duties of a best man,” Lotor said. “But I am entirely sure that quinine isn’t a key ingredient in wedding cake.”

“Maybe not in Galra weddings,” Keith responded, “But probably in Earth weddings.”

“I suppose I don’t know much about Earth culture. But I find it odd that Shiro would bequeath this duty upon you and not Hunk. Or perhaps a professional baker.”

Keith shrugged. “Just because I haven’t baked a cake since I was young doesn’t mean that I can’t learn very quickly.”

Lotor held up the recipe. “And from where did you get this recipe? It looks rather... unique.”

“I printed it out from the site I found online. It was pretty expensive and I had to go onto the dark web to find it, so I figure it’s a good recipe.”

Lotor nodded. “That sounds right.”

“Yeah. I had to buy two different links to get to the recipe and there were all these creepy pop up ads. Then the recipe was written in code. Took me hours to crack it.”

Lotor looked at the recipe again. “This is an awful lot of quinine for so little sugar.”

“Are you going to help or just stand there and insult the recipe?”

Lotor sat the recipe down and rolled up his pajama sleeves. “What should I do?”

Keith had just pulled the cake out of the oven when his phone rang. Lotor picked it up and put it on speaker phone.

“Hey, Shiro,” Keith said, “Lotor and I just finished your wedding cake.”

“My- my what?” Shiro’s voice asked. 

Lotor frowned. “Your wedding cake. Is that not why you called?”

“I called to ask Keith is he was available to get tux fittings tomorrow at 5:00. Why did you make a wedding cake?”

“You asked me to be your best man.” Keith said. 

There was silence on the phone for a moment. “Keith,” Shiro’s voice eventually asked, “Do you think making a wedding cake is one of the best man’s jobs?”

“Is it not?” Lotor asked.

“No, it’s not.” Shiro answered. 

Keith looked at the concoction he had pulled out of the oven, then to the recipe on the counter. “That’s good. Because I’m pretty sure this isn’t a recipe for cake.”


	4. Day Four: Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor stumbles upon a disturbing sight on a recently freed planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read this Kla///nce fic a while ago where Keith was in a similar situation to the one he’s in in this fic, but in the other fic it was really romanticized and it was pretty gross, so I wrote this as a response, not to the author, just for myself. But it fit with today’s prompt more or less so I figured I’d post it. 
> 
> Trigger Warning for slavery, implied past non-con, and non-descriptive electric shock torture. Please don’t read if this will trigger you. 

Lotor and his generals hadn’t done it for fame or attention. They had done it because it was the right thing to do, and because regardless of how insignificant the planet they had freed was, freeing any planet from Galra rule was a huge ‘quiznack you’ to the Empire.

But even though they hadn’t done it for the glory, the planet they had freed was grateful. Once they had freed their king, he declared that a feast would be thrown in their honor.

The food was surprisingly good for a planet mostly stripped of its resources. They dined with the nobles of the planet, all of whom were grateful to have their titles back now that Zarkon didn’t rule them.

The only problem was how everyone kept talking about how awful the Galra were, as if it hadn’t been Galra hybrids to save them. Lotor wondered if any of them even knew. He supposed be and his generals didn’t look very Galra, but usually people could still tell.

They were mid entree when Lotor’s fork clattered to the floor. He cursed his clumsiness. “I’ll be right back,” he told the room, “I need to go ask for a new fork.”

Lotor walked the way he had seen the king leave a moment prior until he came to a room. Inside the room was the king, who was speaking to someone sitting in a corner, on the floor.

The person sitting on floor was a man with long, unruly black hair and pale skin littered with scrapes and bruises.

_‘Is he a prisoner?’_ Lotor wondered, _‘How could they have prisoners if we only just freed them from the Empire this morning? How could they have taken prisoners so quickly? What laws do they even have to arrest someone for breaking?’_

Lotor moved so the king wouldn’t see him observing. He saw the king move his lips and strained his ears to hear what he was saying.

“I said for you to dance for our guests.”

“Well,” The prisoner responded, “I said no.”

“What’s the good of you if you don’t do as you’re told? Prince Lotor and his generals saved my planet from your kind. The least you can do to repay them is to provide entertainment.”

_‘Your kind?’_ Lotor wondered, _‘But he doesn’t look Galra. Then again, neither do I.’_

“Do it yourself, asshole. I don’t live to be paraded around and humiliated.”

Lotor saw the king’s lip curl up in disgust, then into a cruel smile as he pulled a remote from his pocket.

A terrified look spread across the prisoner’s face. “No, stop! I didn’t mean to call you an asshole, please don’t- aagggghhhh!”

The prisoner’s sentence was cut off by his shrill screaming. He clutched at his neck, seemingly trying to claw off his skin, until Lotor saw he was wearing a thin metal necklace- no, a collar.

_‘Vrepit Sa, he’s electrocuting him,’_ Lotor thought, too shocked to move.

The prisoner clawed at his collar until blood began streaming down his neck and he collapsed to the ground when finally the king took his finger off the button.

“Stop embarrassing me, you useless mutt.”

_‘He’s not a prisoner,’_ Lotor realized, _‘This planet keeps slaves.’_

“You think I’m embarrassing you?” The slave growled, lifting his head and surprising Lotor with his fangs. “Imagine how I must feel.”

The king reached out and struck the prisoner’s face. “How dare you speak to me like that! There will be consequences for this.”

The king walked through a door leading out of the room.

“Are you just going to stare at me or are you gonna say something?” The prisoner called out to the room, scowling toward where Lotor was hiding as if he had been the one to hit him.

Lotor stepped out from his hiding spot. “How did-”

“How did I know you were there?” The man pointed to his ear, “Galra hearing.”

“I didn’t-” Lotor started, but he cut himself off. Of course he knew that some of these planets had slaves. He just hadn’t thought that one did. It wasn’t as if he could do something about it. Once he was emperor, freeing them was going to be one of the first things he did, but until then, he tried not to go into that corner of his brain.

What could Lotor possibly say in this situation?

_He shouldn’t treat you this way._ Well, Keith knew that. It wasn’t as if he chose this life.

_I’m sorry this is happening to you._ He should be.

_No one deserves this._ Yeah, no shit.

“Is there any way I can help you?” Lotor finally decided on.

“You can get the fuck out of my sight.” The prisoner replied, body still trembling from the electricity. “And not bother me again.”

Lotor did as he was told, not wanting to cause the man any more distress.

“What’s gotten your armor in a twist?” Ezor asked when Lotor sat back down at the table. “Didn’t think you needed a new fork that badly. You could have mine if it means that much to you.”

Lotor lowered his voice so only Ezor could hear. “It’s not the fork. I went to find someone I could ask, and I found that King Algon has a slave.”

“What? But... didn’t we just save them from being enslaved from the Empire? That’s kinda ironic.”

“The worst sort of irony possible,” Lotor agreed. “And I have no idea how to help him.”

Ezor turned away from Lotor and whispered something to Axca, who in turn whispered something to Zethrid, who whispered something to Narti.

Narti then proceeded to telepathically whispered something back to Zethrid, who in turn whispered to Axca, who whispered something to Ezor, who turned back to Lotor.

“We’re going to try to break him out.”

Lotor nodded in agreement. “Do you have a plan?”

The whispering chain began again, this time discussing possible plans, but stopped abruptly when the king walked back into the room, dragging the man with the collar behind him by a leash.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lotor demanded.

“As a thank you for saving our planet,” The queen said, gesturing to the king and the prisoner, “We wish to give you our prisoner as a gift.”

“Wait, what?” The man exclaimed, “What the fuck is wrong with you people? I wasn’t told that I would be the-”

The man fell to his knees, clutching again at his throat.

“My apologies for his rudeness,” King Algon said when he was done electrocuting the man, “I wish I could say it’s because he’s new, but in truth, Keith’s been here for a decapheobe and he’s still disobedient. That’s where the collar comes in handy.”

“His name is Keith?” Ezor asked.

“Yes, but you could always rename him. He’s not the prettiest or the brightest,” The king said as if that was what was wrong with the situation. “But he is half Galra. We figured that you would all get a kick out of him.”

Lotor stood up, clenching his fists and glaring at the king. “Do you not see the irony here? You were just freed from the Empire, and yet you keep a Galra hybrid as a slave?”

The king just laughed. “The Galra kept us enslaved for hundreds of decapheobes, it seems fitting for us to have a few of them.”

“Besides,” A noble spoke, “He’s very fun to play with.”

“I’m not your toy,” Keith snapped at her.

The noble acted as if she couldn’t hear him. “You offer him some food or freedom and he gets all jumpy, thinking you’re serious. It’s very entertaining to watch if you’re bored. And there are other games you can play with him, too. He’s not nearly as good at pleasing you as _my_ slave, but he’ll do in a pinch. My favorite game is making him sing for me. He’s soooo bad at it, it’s hilarious!”

“Maybe I’d be better at it if you didn’t keep shooting electricity into my neck,” Keith rasped. “I’m surprised I can talk at all at this point.”

“This....” Axca said, “Is so messed up.”

“It’s straight up wrong,” Ezor added.

The nobles all turned to Keith. “Look what you’ve done,” The king sneered, “You’ll be punished for this.”

Keith’s face paled significantly, which Lotor hadn’t thought was possible given how pale he already was.

“Please, no, I-”

“We’ll take him!” Lotor cried out, unable to control himself.

The nobles turned to look at Lotor. “Are you sure?” The queen asked, “We could get you a different one. My husband would surely understand if you wanted a different one.”

“Of course!” The king said, “I simply though this one was the most fitting for the situation. But if you’d prefer another-”

“This one is excellent!” Lotor said, panicking considerably. By taking Keith, was he saying he supported this? But by not taking Keith, Keith would have to stay here with these wretched people. Lotor decided that taking Keith with them would be the best option. They could figure out how to help the rest of the slaves and imprisoned people later, but for now, this was all Lotor could think to do.

The king handed Lotor the remote and the leash.

“Thank you,” Lotor said, “This evening has been lovely. However, we have to get going. Planets aren’t going to free themselves, you know.”

“We understand,” A noble said, “Thank you for saving our planet from the tyrannous Galra Empire.”

Lotor was bombarded by questions the moment the door of the ship closed.

“What the quiznack?”

“I feel nauseous.”

“They have quiznacking slaves?”

“And we took one?”

“I’m going to puke on your shoes, Axca!”

“Don’t puke on my shoes!”

“Why the quiznack does anyone even have slaves in this day and age? We have sentries now!”

“And it’s quiznacking wrong!”

“That’s a given!”

“What did they even do to him? That lady said something about pleasure? What kind of pleasure was she talking?”

“I think we all know what she meant, Ezor!”

“Yeah, but that’s disgusting! He obviously couldn’t say no!”

“And they’ve been torturing him with that collar!”

“And with weird twisted games.”

“Generals!” Lotor shouted, drawing his generals’ attention. “We need to keep calm for the sake of our new guest.”

“I’m right here,” Keith said, startling the others. Lotor wondered if they had forgotten he was there. “You can drop the chivalrous hero act and put me in my cell or whatever.”

Lotor frowned. “We aren’t going to put you in a cell. The only reason we accepted you as a gift to begin with is because slavery is wrong.”

“How flattering.”

“What he means is,” Zethrid said, sounding far gentler than Lotor had ever heard her, “You’re free here. You want us to take that collar off before or after you take a shower? You smell like burnt hair.”

“Yeah, that’s my burnt hair.” Keith deadpanned. “You know, I thought you’d wait a few minutes before playing the ‘make Keith act like an idiot in exchange for freedom you’re never going to give him’ game.”

“Hm.” Lotor thought back to when the noble had told them she liked to offer Keith food or freedom to make him ‘get all jumpy,’ as she had put it. “Keith, I promise you we won’t hurt you. Especially not for being part Galra. We’re all Galra, too.”

Keith looked unimpressed. “And why would that change anything? I’m still a mutt.”

Lotor flinched at the slur. “No one minds you being half Galra. Partly because we’re all half Galra.”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You are?”

“I’m half Galra, half Altean,” Lotor told him.

“I’m half Carlsean!” Ezor chirped.

“I don’t know what my other half is,” Axca confessed, “But I don’t really care.”

“I’m half Lovinopien.” Zethrid said, “And Narti’s half Ametrinian.”

Keith looked at each person as they spoke. “Huh. They told me I was the only one.”

“They lied.”

“I’m impressed,” Zethrid said, “Being in capturing for that long would’ve broken most people. But you’re still full of snark! My kind of guy.”

The faintest trace of a smile appeared on Keith’s face. “They couldn’t break me because I was already broken when they took me.”

Zethrid laughed. “I like him!”

“We all do, I’m sure. Keith,” Lotor looked down to Keith, “Would you like to bathe or eat something? You look a bit sick.”

“No offense, of course,” Axca chimed in, “Slavery and/or imprisonment will do that to you!”

Lotor sat and talked with his generals while Keith took his shower.

“I think he’s starting to trust us,” Axca said, “When I set clothes out for him, he didn’t flinch away from me, so that’s progress.”

“And you took his collar off?” Lotor asked.

“I asked Ezor to do it. She’s the friendliest, so I thought she’d be best at the task.”

Ezor raised her hand. “I took it off! His skin was all purplish underneath. He said it was bruised and I told him that I could lend him some antibiotic gel, but he just kinda looked at me funny so I guess he didn’t want it.”

“We should destroy it,” Zethrid said, “Along with the remote.”

Lotor pulled the remote from his armor’s front pocket. “I didn’t want to activate the electricity by accident.”

Zethrid took her helmet off her head and smashed both items. They gave off a final blast of electricity that harmed no one, then shattered under the weight of the helmet. The group sat in silence for a moment before Lotor finally spoke up. “I suppose we must address the yelmor in the room. What are we to do with Keith?”

“We can’t just leave him on a planet somewhere,” Axca said. “He’ll just get taken prisoner again. The universe isn’t exactly kind to hybrids.”

“I have an idea,” Lotor murmured after a long moment of stifling quiet, “But you would all have to be okay with it…”

“What is it, boss?”

Lotor stood and walked over to a window. He gazed out at the stars. “How would you all feel about adding a fifth general to our little half Galra family?”

Gasps arose from the generals.

“Like... he’d be one of us?” Ezor asked.

Lotor looked back to them and nodded. “Like I said, only if everyone is on board.”

Surprisingly, Zethrid was the first to speak. “I’m in. Keith’s cool.”

“If Zethrid’s in,” Ezor said, “Then so am I.”

“I’m not saying I’m against the idea,” Axca said, “But does Keith even want to be a general? He was enslaved for a decapheobe. Maybe he’s tired of all the drama and just wants to settle down on his home planet or something.”

“His home planet gave him up,” Ezor said, drawing everyone’s attention as she often did. “He told me when I was taking his collar off. Like Axca said, the universe is mean to hybrids.”

“That’s an understatement,” Axca replied, “But we should still ask him what he wants. Let him know he has a say in the matter. It’s his choice.”

Everyone looked to Lotor for approval. He nodded his head. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Let’s go ask Keith.”

When Lotor saw Keith, he was stunned at how much better he looked. His hair was cleaned and brushed, put in a small braid behind his head. His skin was clean and while he still looked pale and thin, his eyes seemed to burn with the fire of one thousand armies.

_‘He’s a fighter,’_ Lotor thought, _‘I wonder if he’d like to spar sometime.’_

“Psst, Lotor,” Zethrid whispered to him, “We get that you’re gay, but stop ogling the poor guy and ask him if he wants to stay.”

Keith snorted when Zethrid said this and Lotor felt reminded of his superlative hearing. He hoped his embarrassment wasn’t obvious.

“Oh, um. Yes, of course. Keith, please understand that we would never force you to do anything you don’t completely wish to do. But if you’d like, would you perhaps like to join our family and become of of my generals?”

Keith blinked slowly. “Are you fucking with me?”

“I... I don’t think so? I must admit, I’m not familiar with your species’s slang, but from context I assume you’re asking if I am lying to you, and the answer is no.”

Lotor inwardly grimaced. Usually he was so articulate. Today he was not. Luckily for him, Ezor picked up the slack. “We’d love to have you!”

“If you want,” Axca added, “But it’d be great if you want to stay. You’d be our equal, not a slave or a prisoner.”

Keith looked to each of them, eyes scrutinizing as he scanned each of their faces. “If you’re positive that that would be okay... and as long as what you said about me being your equal is true.... then sure.”

“Hooray!” Ezor cheered, kissing Zethrid’s cheek. “We’ve got another general for our little family.”

Lotor laughed when Zethrid was too stunned by the kiss to speak. He turned to Keith and held out his hand for Keith to shake.

“Welcome aboard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lotor don’t get together in this one because Keith’s still dealing with the trauma of being enslaved etc., but there will be a sequel fic on Day 14. 


	5. Day Five: Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith misses the stars.

There were no stars in the colony. Most of the people there hadn't seen a star in their life. It had been generations since anyone had been in the real world, and at some point it stopped being passed down. 

But Keith wasn't like them. He had only arrived in the colony recently. Until then, he had been wandering around the galaxy with whatever crew would take him, shapeshifting to fit whatever form they had. 

Lotor had found him in a pub. He had gotten slightly intoxicated (as he often did on the anniversary of his mother's death) and must not have realized he was showing his Altean marks. 

Keith felt a tap on his shoulder. Standing there was a tall, handsome man with long white hair. Keith raised an eyebrow at him. "You need something?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you," The man said. He spoke with an... an Altean accent? Keith hadn't heard one of those in decapheobes. "But I was wondering if you might happen to be... Altean?"

Keith dropped his glass, not caring about the nunvil spilling onto his shoes. "No. I'm not Altean. Why do you ask?"

The man looked down at Keith's glass. "That was quite the adverse reaction. I'm sorry if I offended you. It's just that I myself am half Altean, and I-"

"You're Altean?" Keith asked. "But... you don't look it."

"Neither do you. It's your Altean marks that sold you out."

Keith reached up and felt his cheek. He willed away the marks. "Quiznack."

The man held up his hands in surrender. "No need to fret. But you are Altean, no?"

"I mean, yeah. I guess. Half Altean."

The man's face lit up. "You're a hybrid, then? How exciting! It's rare that I meet another hybrid, and I don't believe I've ever met another half Altean before."

Keith waved the bartender over and ordered another drink. Once it had arrived, he took a swig. "Species being wiped out sure doesn't help."

Lotor sat on the stool next to him. "That's not necessarily true." 

Keith chugged his drink. "Bartender, could I get another nunvil?"

Keith felt Lotor watching him as he downed the beverage. "Celebrating something? Or are you perhaps drinking to forget?"

Keith shook his head. "Nothing worth celebrating. Tonight's just the anniversary of my mom's death."

"When my mother dies, I will certainly be celebrating. But you don't seem thrilled."

"That's because I'm not. She was great. She was Galra, so she helped me blend in with the others after Altea blew up. Then she died, so I ran away, and now I'm here." 

Keith raised his hand to wave the bartender back over, but Lotor pushed it down. 

"Hey! What gives?" 

"What if I told you there was a place where Alteans lived in peace? Away from the war and the Empire."

"That'd be great, but until you make it happen somehow, I'm getting another nunvil." 

Keith raised his other hand, but Lotor pushed it down, too. "It does exist, and I can take you there. But please, no more nunvil. You've had far too much, and that's only since I've gotten here."

"Keith," Keith heard Lotor call out. He turned to see Lotor walking around in his Altean form, "How are you enjoying the colony?"

Keith smiled, hoping to disguise his discontentment. He didn't want to seem ungrateful. He did enjoy the people and feeling of safety. It had been a long time since he had felt safe. "I love it. Thanks for asking." 

Lotor didn't appear to believe him. "You don't seem to love it."

Keith dropped his facade. "How could you tell?"

Lotor sat down on the grass. "You seem morose. Your aura is one of utter disappointment."

Keith sat down next to him. "My aura? What, are you a wizard or something?"

Lotor smiled at the joke, but didn't say anything in response. 

Keith sighed. "Yeah. I mean, it's great. Everyone's really nice. They're all excited to have a new neighbor or whatever, and I've been invited to a ton of clubs and activities. It's great."

"You don't sound convinced."

Keith didn't say anything for a moment. "It's just... everyone here is so happy. It's like they don't even miss the outside world. Lotor, they don't even know what stars look like."

Lotor frowned. "Well, the truth is, it seems that way because it's true. They don't miss the outside world. Most of them haven't ever left the colony to begin with. But if you miss the stars... I may be able to help you with that."

Before Keith knew it, he was laying with Lotor atop his ship on a nearby moon. 

"The stars are also beautiful tonight," Lotor said. 

"They sure are," Keith responded, not catching onto Lotor's hidden meaning. 

Keith didn't even notice that Lotor's eyes were looking him far more often than not. He couldn't see Lotor's face light up whenever Keith got excited. He was too busy looking above, just him, Lotor, and the stars.


	6. Day Six: Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith’s stuck in an arranged marriage with a prince, and he seems to be the only one who has a problem with the whole situation. Until, at least, he meets a stranger in the park.

“Absolutely not!” Keith shouted at his mother. 

“Keith,” Krolia said, clearly exasperated that Keith hadn’t given in at all since she had told him. “It will be amazing for our family.”

“I’m not going to get sold off as a sex toy to some prince so you can eat off golden plates! Our family is doing fine!” Even as Keith shouted it, he knew it wasn’t true. His family had been struggling ever since his father had died two years earlier. 

“You know that isn’t what’s happening.” Krolia said, “You’re acting like a child.”

Keith scoffed. “If I were a child, I wouldn’t have to marry Lot-whore. Why can’t Shiro do it? He’s attractive and he has a job!”

“Shiro is already courting that Olkari boy.”

“Well then why can’t you marry him?”

Krolia snapped a pencil in her hand. Keith could see that she was only growing more aggravated, but he didn’t care. “I am far too old, and besides, Prince Lotor chose you. You should be grateful. He could have had anyone in Diabazol and he chose you.”

“Well I didn’t choose him!” Keith yelled, “Why does Shiro get to choose his boyfriend but I get married off? It’s not fair!”

“That is enough!” Krolia stood up and slammed her hand against the table. Keith could tell she was seething. 

‘Good.’ He thought, ‘So am I.’

“You’re acting so selfishly!” Krolia snapped. 

“I’m acting selfishly? You’re the one trying to control my life. It’s my life! I should get to choose!” With that, Keith stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. 

Keith walked to the park and sat next to the pond. He watched the ducks until they got bored of him. He didn’t go back home for dinner, or even when it began to grow dark. 

“Oh,” A deep voice said from behind him. “I didn’t realize anyone else would be here.”

Keith looked behind him. The dark obscured the voice’s figure despite all three moons being out tonight. Usually he would be able to see better in the dark, but tears tended to worsen his night vision abilities. 

Not that Keith would ever admit he had been crying.

“You don’t own the park. I’ve got just as much of a right to be here as you do.” He snapped back at the tall figure. 

The figure laughed. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just that usually no one else is here at this hour.”

Keith looked up at the moons. He hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. “Hm.”

“I come here to think.” The figure said. “I assume you’re doing the same?”

Keith nodded, knowing that the figure had the unfair advantage of his sight working. “Guess I am.”

The figure sat down next to him. Keith still couldn’t see his face, which irritated him. Why was this guy so tall? 

“Would you like to talk about it?” The tall man asked. “I’ve been told I’m an excellent listener.”

Keith considered the offer. Usually he talked to Shiro about his problems, but Shiro thought the marriage was a great idea. Adam didn’t like the idea of it, but there wasn’t anything he could do.

“Sure,” Keith said, “That’d be nice. No judgment, though, right?”

“Of course not. So long as you do the same with my complaints.”

“Deal. My mom is making me marry this guy. I meet him tomorrow, and then I have to marry him the day after.”

The man made a sympathetic humming sound. 

“And it’s like,” Keith continued, “I should be happy. He’s a good guy from what my mom says about him. He’s-” 

Keith paused, wondering if telling a stranger about his engagement would endanger him. He eventually decided he didn’t care. If this guy kidnapped him, at least he wouldn’t have to get married in a few days.

“He’s the prince, actually.” Keith said. 

“Is he?” The man asked, sounding inappropriately amused. “And you don’t like him? Too ugly for someone as beautiful as you?”

“It’s not that.” Keith said. “It’s the principle of it. The fact that she’s marrying me off just so she can live better financially. I’ve had to go to all these weird etiquette lessons and shit.”

“I see.”

“And no one gets it! I haven’t even met him. My brother keeps talking about how I’ll get to be Empress one day and how it’s a great opportunity. He doesn’t get it. He’s not going to have to have sex with some creepy prince in a few days to consummate a marriage he doesn’t even want! He gets to marry his Olkarian boyfriend.”

“Hm.”

“And I’m excited about the idea of bettering the universe as Empress. But what if Prince Lotion’s a dick? What if he hits me or something? What if he doesn’t even let me do anything for the Empire and my only job is to sit by his side and look pretty? Quiznack, maybe he’s got a harem.”

When Keith mentioned the harem, the man next to him made a choking sound. 

“He won’t hit you and he doesn’t have a harem, I can assure you of that.”

Keith let out a cold laugh. “How would you know?”

“My father works with him,” the man said. “He’s not fond of him, but to be fair, my father doesn’t like most people.”

“Has he told you what he’s like?” Keith asked, “Like I said, I’ve never met him.”

“Well,” the man spoke again after taking a moment to think, “I know he enjoys solitary nighttime walks where he can think. And he likes Altean cuisine, especially spiced Yelnuts. My father says that the cake at the wedding will be spiced Yelnut flavored, but he’s not the most reliable person. I believe my father also mentioned that the prince hates injustice of any kind, but that was one of the things he hates about him.”

“He doesn’t sound too bad,” Keith admitted, “But your dad sounds like a piece of work.”

The man laughed. “That’s certainly one way of putting it.”

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a while before Keith spoke again. 

“So what’s going on with you?” Keith finally asked. 

The man sighed. “Well, my predicament is rather similar to yours. My parents picked a man for me to marry, but I only just met him for the first time today, and I am set to marry him very soon.”

Keith nodded. “That sucks.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate. I do adore him, but I’m afraid he doesn’t feel the same way. He thinks that I wanted this, that I chose to get married to a man I’d never met, and for that he hates me.”

“Why don’t you tell him?”

“I haven’t had the chance yet.”

Keith squinted at him, trying to see the man’s face. ‘Stupid eyes,’ he thought. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” The man asked. 

“I don’t see why not,” Keith responded, “I told you all about my problems.”

“My father, the one you said was a piece of work, is dying.” 

“I’m sorry.” Keith said, feeling bad about criticizing him. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have said that.”

“The fact that he’s dying doesn’t make him any less terrible, Keith.” The man said. 

Keith mentally chastised himself for telling the man his name, although he didn’t remember doing it. But he supposed that once he had married Prince Lotor, everyone would know his name anyway. 

“That’s why he’s marrying me off,” the man continued, “Because I’m set to take over his- er, job.”

“You’re an apprentice, then?”

“Of sorts. I’ve been trained for it my whole life.” 

“And why do you have to be married for it?”

“It’s the sort of position that takes two. My mother and father did it together, too.”

Keith wracked his brain, trying to think off what job this guy’s dad could possibly have. 

“What the quiznack does he do?” He finally asked. 

The man didn’t answer him right away. “You’re very intelligent from what I’ve heard about you. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” 

“Heard about me?” Keith asked. He hadn’t done any interviews with the press yet, but he doubted there was anyone who didn’t know about the marriage yet. 

The man stood up and then held his hand out to help Keith do the same. “I have to be getting home before anyone realizes I’m gone. I have a lot to do tomorrow, as do you.”

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “I hope your betrothed starts to like you soon.”

“I think he’s starting to. And thank you for listening. It helped me a great deal.”

“No problem. I’d say anytime, but that would be wishful thinking.”

“I’m flattered. Goodbye, Keith.”

The man started walking away. Keith’s vision started working again just in time for him to see a dark hood covering long, white hair. 

Keith spent the long walk home trying to figure out what the mysterious man’s father’s job was. He worked with the Prince closely enough to know about him. It was a job that you needed to be married to do, and that one could apprentice for. Keith was stumped. 

The house was dark and quiet when Keith got home. 

‘Shiro and Mom must have be asleep.’ Keith thought as he tucked himself into bed, feeling a little better about tomorrow, but still not looking forward to it.

Keith awoke to an outfit being tossed onto his face. “The quiznack?” 

“Language!” His mother scolded before taking on a softer (as soft as she could sound) and excited tone, “You’re meeting Prince Lotor today. You have to look nice. Go take a shower and then put on this suit.”

Keith showered and put on the suit, but he didn’t like it. 

The suit was nice, he supposed, but it was far too cheerful and festive for such a bad day. 

Krolia was dressed nicely, too, along with Shiro. Both of them looked far too excited. 

“Cheer up,” Shiro said. “You’re meeting your fiancé!”

“My warden, more like.” Keith grumbled. 

Shiro pretended not to hear him. 

A car picked them up and drove them to the castle. 

“Your highness, Master Keith.” A man at the castle’s entrance said, bowing. 

“Thanks?” Keith said. 

“My name is Coran!” The man, Coran, said. “I’ll be taking you and your family to meet Prince Lotor.”

“I actually assist King Alfor of Altea,” Coran rattled on as he led them through the ornate halls. “But Emperor Zarkon wanted me to help you today since Alfor and Melanor are visiting for the wedding.”

“King Alfor and Queen Melanor are here?” Shiro asked. 

“Of course! They’re so excited for young Lotor to marry. They were hoping he would marry Princess Allura, but she didn’t want that. That’s a secret, by the way. You mustn’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.” Keith said. “I don’t care enough to.”

Shiro hit him with a glare, but Coran just laughed again. “Good one, ‘M boy.”

They were led through a maze of beautiful corridors. Keith wondered if Coran was leading them in a way that was more complicated than necessary just to make it harder for Keith to escape if he decided to make a run for it, but he doubted that was the case. Coran seemed to know his way around the castle very well. Keith wondered if he would ever know his way around the castle like that. 

Coran finally stopped in front of a glass door leading to a courtyard. “First you will all meet Prince Lotor, then we will make our way to the dining hall, where you will eat dinner with the Royal family.”

“Thank you so much, Coran.” Krolia said. 

“Of course!” Coran opened the door and gestured for Keith to go first. 

Keith saw Prince Lotor sitting on a bench with a bouquet of juniberries, talking to a cat. He had to admit that Lotor was handsome, and him being good with cats was definitely a point in his favor.

“Lotor, ‘M boy!” Coran chirped, scaring away the cat. “Your consort, Keith is here!”

Lotor looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Coran.”

“Of course!” 

Lotor stood and walked over to Keith. He took Keith’s hand. Keith felt the urge to snatch it away before he could kiss it, but Lotor didn’t make the move to kiss it at all. He bowed his head toward his hand, but didn’t do as much as pucker his lips in Keith’s direction. 

“Keith, it’s an honor to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you before our wedding tomorrow.”

Keith forced himself to smile. “As do I, your highness.”

Lotor let go of Keith’s hand and began making small talk with Shiro and Krolia, with Coran chiming in with Sa knows what.

‘He seems okay.’ Keith thought, ‘It could be a lot worse. He’s handsome, didn’t kiss my hand without my permission even though it would have been appropriate if he did, and the man at the park said- holy Quiznack.’

Lotor laughed at something Shiro said (Shiro looked pleased that he had made the prince laugh) and everything clicked. 

“It was you!” Keith shouted, pointing at an amused looking Lotor. 

Shiro smacked Keith upside the head. “Keith! We talked about this!” 

“No need to fret,” Lotor assured Shiro, “I find him quite charming. Keith, would you like to take a stroll through the garden?”

Lotor handed Keith the juniberries. 

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” Keith answered. He took the juniberries. “Thank you.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, Keith all but exploded with questions. “It was you in the park?”

“It was indeed.” Lotor confirmed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“To be honest, I thought you knew until you expressed how little you thought of me without knowing who I was. And at that point it would have been awkward.”

“Yeah,” Keith snorted, “Way less awkward now.”

“It took you longer to figure it out than I assumed you would. My father told me you were intelligent.”

“Hey!” Keith protested. “I am! But what were the odds that it would be you out of anyone who could have been at the park?”

“I’m just glad you figured it out before we wed.”

“Did you mean what you said last night?” Keith asked, “About Emperor Zarkon choosing me for you because he’s dying?”

“I was entirely truthful,” Lotor said, leaning on a statue of an Emperor long gone, “But I also was truthful when I said that I was fond of you. I sincerely hope that you don’t feel as adverse about me as you did last night.”

Keith thought about it. “I don’t hate you anymore.”

“I’m glad.”

“But don’t think that I’m into the whole ‘marrying you the day after we met’ thing.”

Lotor’s lip quirked ever so slightly in a smile. Keith would have missed it if he hadn’t been paying attention. “Of course.”

Keith looked over to his family, who were still talking to Coran about the evening’s schedule. Keith sighed. 

This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will have a sequel on the ninth which will focus mainly on the night after the wedding.


	7. Day Eight: Sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lotor spar, but Lotor keeps distracting Keith. Well, two can play at that game.

Keith was having a bad day. Ever since Shiro had been found, he had been acting differently. Keith knew it was just stress and PTSD, but it was still so unlike him. He was being short with everyone and had even yelled at Lance. 

Keith felt lost without Shiro’s guidance. He felt like with Shiro acting the way he was, it fell upon Keith to be the perfect, patient leader. 

‘Maybe I can burn off some steam by training,’ Keith thought, ‘That always helps my mood.’ 

“Begin training sequence level six.” Keith shouted at the room. 

The world around Keith melted into a blur of steel and sweat. He moved without thinking, completely relying on instinct to make sure he didn’t lose the fight. 

It took longer than usual for Keith to feel relaxed, but he finally began to feel his stress abandon him once he had finished level twelve. 

Keith sheathed his sword and used his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. 

“Excellent swordsmanship,” Spoke a voice from behind Keith.

Keith turned around to see Lotor leaning against the wall. 

“Lotor?” Keith asked, “What are you doing here?” 

“I assume I’m here to do the same thing as you. I plan on practicing my sword fighting as well.” 

Keith frowned. How long had Lotor been watching him? He hadn’t been training to impress, just to let off steam. What if he hadn’t done well and embarrassed himself? 

‘I can’t have done too badly,’ Keith thought, ‘I didn’t get stabbed or anything.’

“You truly are an extraordinary swordsman.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“Would you perhaps allow me to test your skills against my own?” 

Keith thought about it. It wasn’t like he wanted to say no, but he doubted he could win against Lotor. He had been training for a long time. His skills would certainly best Keith’s, and before Keith knew it, he’d be pinned beneath Lotor on the ground. 

He’d be lying if he said that thought didn’t make him feel more excited than angry.

“Sure,” Keith said, trying his hardest to appear nonchalant. 

Keith pulled out his sword and took a stance. He watched Lotor do the same. He lasted about three minutes in the fight. 

Keith’s heart raced each time Lotor was on top of him with his sword to his throat. He felt blood rush to his cheeks every time Lotor complimented his form or stance. He half thought Lotor was only complimenting him to make it easier for him to win. His other half wondered if he was only sparring in the first place to make Keith feel flustered. 

‘Well,’ Keith thought, ‘If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching Lance’s failed flirting attempts, it’s that two can play at that game.’

Before Keith knew it, Lotor’s blade was once again pressed against his throat. 

“I win.” 

“Are you sure? Because I’m pretty sure I just won.”

“You do realize that you’re pinned beneath me, don’t you?” Lotor asked, a look of utter confusion on his face, “That means you’ve lost.”

“I didn’t mean the sword fight,” Keith replied.

“Than what-”

Keith smacked Lotor’s sword out of his hand, sending it flying onto the floor. He grabbed Lotor’s collar and pulled him down into a kiss, feeling relieved when Lotor didn’t pull away, but kissed back with fervor.

They were both so distracted by the kiss that neither of them noticed Hunk until they heard him. “Hey, are you guys still training? I wanted to get in some- holy quiznack!”

Keith pushed Lotor off of him. “Hunk!”

“I’m sorry!” Hunk yelled, “I didn’t know you guys were screwing in the training room! I wouldn’t have come in!”

“It was just a kiss!” Keith insisted.

“It wouldn’t have been ‘just a kiss’ for long had you not shown up,” Lotor added.

“Not helping!”

“You know what?” Hunk squeaked out, “I’m actually good on training. I’ll be back some other time, when you two aren’t making out on the floor.”

Hunk raced out of the room. Lotor grinned at Keith. “Should we take this to my quarters? We could have another round of.... sparring.”

“Hell yeah.”


	8. Day Nine: Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor and Keith bond after the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: This fic is a continuation of day six: Alliance.

The dinner went better than Lotor thought it would. Zarkon hadn't made any comments about wishing Lotor had married Allura, and Honerva seemed to be quite fond of Krolia.

Lotor thought back to when the idea of marriage had been forced upon him. He hadn't been fond of the idea, but as long as he was going to marry Princess Allura as was planned, he wouldn't complain. He and Allura weren't interested in each other that way, but at least Lotor wouldn't have to marry a stranger.

Then he found out that King Alfor and Queen Melanor weren't forcing Allura to marry anyone, and she was going to focus on her studies instead.

"Why does she get to refuse marriage?" Lotor had complained, "But I don't even get to chose whom I marry?"

"Because Alfor and Melanor don't need an heir," His mother had answered, "And they're raising Allura differently than we raised you."

"But-"

"Do not raise your voice at your mother." Zarkon interrupted, even though Lotor hadn't raised his voice. (Last time he did that, it hadn't ended well for him. He did not with to repeat _that_ ordeal.) "You are getting married to a young man named Keith. That is final."

"You two will be so cute together," Honerva cooed, "He graduated top of his class at Diabazol piloting school, he's very attractive, and he's a hybrid, too."

Honerva held up a hologram picture of Keith.

"He looks and sounds lovely," Lotor admitted, "But I still-"

"This isn't about you, Lotor." Honerva said, "You know your father is not of good health. We need someone to take over the throne."

Lotor hadn't responded. But now that he had met Keith, he was much more hopeful about the whole situation.

The wedding itself was beautiful. Keith wore a long veil as was traditional, and Lotor wore a similarly traditional hat that he was not fond of because it made his face look far too long. At least it wasn't as hideous as Dayak's hat, which looked as if it had a taxidermy bird on top of it.

After Keith and Lotor said their vows (Keith sounded very unenthusiastic, but no one in the aisles seemed to notice), they had to greet the guests so everyone could congratulate them on their union, as if it was something they had accomplished and not a wedding they had nothing to do with except being the grooms.

"Prince Lotor!" Lotor heard Dayak call from behind him.

"Oh no," Lotor groaned. He plastered on a fake smile and turned to his governess. "Dayak! How have you been lately?"

"Oh, you know how it is getting older."

Lotor didn't, but decided it would be easier to just agree. "I do indeed."

"Have you been maintaining your studies since you graduated?"

"I've been a bit busy planning the wedding, Dayak." Lotor lied, hoping to leave this conversation as soon as possible. "But I'm planning on getting back into them as soon as my dear Keith and I have settled into married life."

"Excellent. Say, where is the lucky young Galra?"

Dayak walked off to find Keith, who Lotor had no doubt was hiding somewhere. He only wished he could do the same.

Keith's mother and brother both gave beautiful speeches that Keith did not seem to enjoy. Zarkon and Honerva also gave a speech, along with King Alfor and Queen Melenor. They talked about how Lotor had grown up so fast, and how it seemed like just yesterday he was learning how to hold a sword. Lotor felt about as happy about this memory as Keith looked.

Finally Lotor and Keith were allowed to go back to their bedroom. Lotor was so exhausted from the day that even the floor was beginning to look like a comfortable napping spot.

Keith looked even more tired than Lotor felt, which was saying something.

"I imagine you're very tired," Lotor said, handing Keith his pajamas to change into and turning around to give him some privacy. "Would you like to call up for some tea before you go to sleep? I can show you how, if you'd like."

"I'd rather not have anyone come up here," Keith's slightly muffled voice said through the fabric of the pajamas that were being pulled over his head, "It's bad enough for one person to see me naked."

Lotor frowned, even though he knew Keith couldn't see his face. "What do you mean? Who are you planning on seeing you naked?"

"Uh, you?" Keith answered, "When we have sex tonight."

"Hav-" Lotor asked before cutting himself off.

_'Obviously,'_ Lotor thought, _'How did that evade my mind?'_

"Oh dear," Lotor said, "There seems to have been a misunderstanding. I assumed you didn't want to consummate our marriage tonight, based on our conversation at the park."

"You didn't misunderstand," Keith assured him, "I don't want to have sex tonight. But I know you probably do."

"That's not a very good reason." Lotor said, "Just because I want to doesn't mean you have to do anything you're not comfortable with before you're comfortable doing it."

"You... aren't going to force me to consummate the marriage?" Keith asked.

Lotor frowned. He knew Keith hadn't been fond of him, but the fact that he thought Lotor was vile enough to _force_ something like _that_ upon him... It truly made Lotor feel nauseous.

"Keith," Lotor said, turning around to see that Keith was now in his pajamas, "I swear, I will never force you to do anything of that sort."

"But the law says-"

"I know what the law says," Lotor cut him off as he walked over to the balcony and looked out onto the courtyard. He clenched his fists around the rail. "But any law that forces sexual relations is a law that needs to be dismantled."

Keith didn't say anything, but his face was one of someone who was considering what had just been said.

"Besides," Lotor said, "My father has no way of knowing that we didn't have intercourse. We could simply go to sleep and tomorrow pretend that we did."

"Or..." Lotor turned back toward Keith, a mischievous glint in his eye, "We could stay up all night talking about that atrocious hat my former governess was wearing at our wedding."

Keith snorted in laughter. "Seriously, what was up with that hat? It looked like she killed a fucking turkey or something."  
  


Lotor laughed at Keith's colorful commentary. He sat back down next to him. "She always did love birds."

"I love my brother, Shiro," Keith said, "But I'm not going to kill him and turn him into a hat."

"I love your hair, but it would be rather cruel to shear it off and make a hat out of it."

"Well, I like your voice, but I'm not going to take out your throat and make it into a necklace."

"I like your last name, but I'm not going to take it."

"Too late. I already took yours."

"Exactly. I couldn't take it even if I wanted to."

"Take this!" Keith said, much to Lotor's confusion. This confusion was soon replaced with indignation, followed by understanding as a pillow hit his face.

"Betrayal!" Lotor squawked, clutching at the pillow on his face. He pulled it away from him and used it to swat Keith in the chest. Soon enough, they were in an all out pillow war, which, in Lotor's opinion, was an excellent way to start a marriage.


	9. Day Ten: Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is born with their soulmate’s name written on their arm. Lotor’s problem is that the language it’s written is isn’t Galran (or Altean, or any other language Lotor had ever heard of.) So when he sees a prisoner writing in the very same mysterious language, he’d be foolish not to pursue the lead.

It was supposed to be simple, really. Axca would turn off the alarms while Lotor snuck into the prison and found intel about the champion. Was he going to be a weapon for the empire? Would it be easier to kill him before they had the chance to turn him into a super weapon? Or could Lotor use him for his own gain?

He hoped all of these answers would be answered for him when he found data in the prison logs. All he had to do was to follow the map Narti had made for him, then he could take the information and flee without anyone being the wiser to him being there in the first place. 

The plan went awry when Lotor found the champion along the way and decided to snoop. He hid behind a crate and watched the prisoners. 

When Lotor saw him, he was thoroughly underwhelmed. He was in a cell with two other prisoners, the two of whom bore a familial resemblance. True to the image Narti had procured before the mission, the champion had a white streak in his hair. When he turned, Lotor could see his robotic arm. 

_‘That must be him,’_ Lotor thought, thinking back to Narti’s image, _‘The Champion.’_

The robotic arm could work well in a fight, but the champion didn’t look all too strong or powerful otherwise. Lotor examined the others in the cell. 

The younger one was walking back and forth in some sort of fit, and the eldest of them was writing on the walls with a primitive writing device. 

“Those symbols...” Lotor whispered to himself. He couldn’t see his soulmark through his armor, but he didn’t need to. He had spent enough time gazing at it to be able to recognize it anywhere. “They’re the same as mine.”

Millions of thoughts flooded Lotor’s brain all at once. If that was the same language, then that implied that the prisoners were from the same planet as his soulmate. Which meant maybe they could help him find them. Even if they couldn’t, at least Lotor would know their name. That was a better starting point than not knowing anything. 

All logic flew out the window as Lotor rushed over to the prisoners, discarding his arm plate onto the ground beside him. 

“Who the hell are you?” The brown haired man asked him once he reached the cell.

Lotor didn’t answer. He thrusted his arm toward the prisoners. “My soulmark. What does it say.”

“Your soulmark?” The champion asked. “How would we know?”

Lotor looked from side to side, praying that no guards would come in before he had gotten the information he needed.“This is your language, no? What does it say?”

Neither of the young men answered him, seemingly in shock from his attention. The older man was staring at Lotor in defiance.

“I’m in a bit of a rush here,” Lotor said in agitated tone, “So if someone could just tell me what my soulmark says, I could leave this wretched place and go on my way.”

The young brown haired man looked at Lotor’s arm. “No way. Keith?”

“Keith?” The champion and the old man said at the same time.

“Like, Shiro’s Keith?” The old man asked, rushing over to see the soulmark. 

The brown haired man nodded. “Yeah! Keith Kogane.”

“You’re kidding me,” The champion groaned.

“Keith Kogane,” Lotor said, feeling very pleased to finally know his soulmate’s name, regardless of the prisoners’ unexpected reaction. “Thank you all for your assistance. I’d best be on my way before Haggar notices I’m here. Axca can only keep the alarms off so long without the guards noticing.”

Lotor put his arm plate back on and began to walk toward the logs, but was stopped by the champion shouting at him. “You’re my brother’s soulmate? You?!”

Lotor stopped in his tracks. He turned around and walked back over to the cell. “Keith Kogane is your brother? As in, you and he are of the same blood?”

“Yeah. We’re adopted brothers,” The champion confirmed. 

Lotor sighed and pulled out his sword. The champion’s arm glowed violet as he pushed the other prisoners behind him. His mouth split into a scowl. 

“Calm down,” Lotor said, “It is not my intention to fight you.”

“Then why’d you pull out your swo-”

Lotor didn’t hear what the champion said next over the sound of his sword slicing through the lock.

“I can’t leave my soulmate’s kin in my father’s prison and expect to gain his affection.” 

“Your fath- Zarkon has a son?” The brown haired man asked, “Who the fuck had sex with that guy?”

The eldest man frowned at him. “Matt, language.”

“ _ My language  _ is what you’re upset about? Not the fact that someone was enough of a scaley to screw the lizard king? Someone hot enough to produce this hunk of man?” The brown haired man, Matt, Lotor assumed, gestured to Lotor’s body, then to his face. 

Lotor began to feel both flattered and objectified, which was a rarity for him. He wasn’t exactly the spitting image of Galran beauty, and the Alteans had gone extinct during the war. 

“When I pull the door off of its hinges,” Lotor explained to the group of prisoners, “An alarm will sound. When this happens, it is very important that you three follow me to my ship and board without resistance. Aboard the ship will be my generals. They will not be pleased that I’ve taken you, but they will not harm you without my permission. Understand?”

The group nodded and muttered various terms of understanding. Lotor pulled the door off the cell and gestured for the prisoners to leave.

“Hot damn,” Matt said as they ran behind Lotor to escape. “That was cool how you ripped that door out of the wall.”

“Thank you.” Lotor responded, turning a sharp corner.

“And you’re so tall. How tall are you?”

“I’m actually very short for a Galra. I’m about 215.9 Centimeters, 218 if you count my boots.”

“Your boots, haha. You’re sooooo funny.”

A pack of sentries ran toward them. Lotor sliced them down with his sword and kept running. 

“Matt!” The champion called out with a hint of aggravation in his voice, “Stop flirting with Keith’s soulmate!” 

“If he liked him, he should’ve put a ring on it!”

“They haven’t even met yet!”

“Exactly! It’s fair game.”

“Matt, I swear, I will-”

“I’ve been in space for over a year, Shiro. I’m super horny. You can’t blame me for trying to get some action with this purple fox.”

“He’s my brother’s soulmate!”

“Keith couldn’t possibly blame me for trying to get with this babe magne-”

“Boys,” The eldest man scolded, “We don’t have time to argue right now, we are running for our lives.”

“Sorry, Dad.”

“Sorry, Sam.”

They reached Lotor’s ship without too much of a hitch, unless you count two fighting yuppers, a swarm of sentries, and sixteen yelmors, but Lotor didn’t. 

He only allowed himself to relax once they were a full star system away from the prison. 

“Excellent work,” he said to his generals. 

“Can’t say the same for you,” Ezor laughed, “You go in for intel on the Champion and come out with three prisoners. I guess none of us are great at following orders, huh?”

“You’re still trying to get me to forgive you for kidnapping that Arusian as a pet, aren’t you?” Lotor sighed. 

Ezor shrugged. “How was I supposed to know he was a person and not a little animal?”

Lotor was grateful when Axca changed the subject. “Where are the prisoners now?”

“I put them in Lotor’s room,” Zethrid said much to Lotor’s chagrin. 

“Why in Sa’s name would you do that?”

“Because that’s what happens when you bring three prisoners onto a ship and say they’re ‘guests’ and we can’t put them in the dungeon.”

“Fair enough.”

Lotor walked into his room to find the champion pacing around in circles, Matt sitting on Lotor’s bed, and Sam rifling through Lotor’s bookshelf.

“I’m telling you,” The champion said, “This guy’s bad news. The son of Zarkon? Why haven’t we heard of him?”

“My father is not fond of me,” Lotor answered, watching the champion jump in surprise. “His paternal instincts died the moment my mother Honerva did.”

“Your mother was Honerva?” Sam asked. 

“You know of her?”

“Who’s that?” Matt asked.

“She conducted the first experiments on the effects of quintessence. They told me about her in the work camp.”

Lotor nodded. “Yes, Honerva was indeed my mother. Speaking of kin-” Lotor held his hand out for the champion to shake. “I believe you and I haven’t been formerly introduced. My apologies for not properly greeting my soulmate’s family. I am Prince Lotor. It’s an honor to meet you, Champion.”

The champion declined the handshake, scowling at Lotor with concern and distrust. “It’s Shiro, not Champion.”

“Shiro, then.” Lotor said. He was beginning to grow irritated, but didn’t want to give the champion- 

_‘No,’_ Lotor internally corrected himself, _‘Shiro.’_

He didn’t want to give  _Shiro_ a negative first impression.

Once Lotor’s handshake was finally accepted, albeit with reluctance, Lotor finally greeted the other humans. 

“Matt and Sam, I assume,” Lotor said. 

The humans nodded. “Yep, that’s us.”

Lotor sat at his chair next to the bookshelf. He looked over at Shiro, who Lotor was sad to say didn’t seem very fond of him. 

“Earth has an advanced army,” Shiro finally said after many moment of uncomfortable silence, “You won’t be able to conquer the planet.”

Lotor frowned. “Conquer your planet? Is that what you think of me?”

“Well, duh,” Matt said, now burrowed into Lotor’s blankets. “Your dad, Zarkon-”

Lotor stood abruptly, hoping this action would placate his anger. He had freed these humans from the arena, he had given them clothes, he had said nothing as they rummaged through his bed and bookshelf. Yet they still thought he was set out to conquer Earth. 

He had to remind himself that these humans had been though a lot during their captivity and it would likely take more than simple courtesies to make them feel safe.

“I am  not  my father.” Lotor said firmly, “I am not in desire of your insignificant planet. Although I do wonder why no one came looking for you if your armies are so advanced, it is obviously not something you are prepared to answer.”

“Then... why did you save us?” 

“My intentions have been very clear since the beginning. I have not lied to you. I am bringing you to Earth as a show of peace to Keith. Once he sees that I have rescued his brother and assorted others, I will tell him that we are soulmates. Unless you don’t approve. I wouldn’t want to anger his family.” Lotor added. This part was a lie, but Lotor felt like adding it would help Shiro feel better about the situation. In truth, Lotor would go through with this plan regardless. 

Luckily, Shiro seemed to both believe him and finally approve of him as Keith’s soulmate. 

They arrived in Earth’s atmosphere after a few days of travel, during which Lotor was pleased to say he, his generals, and the humans bonded considerably. 

Once they arrived in Earth’s sky, Lotor wasted no time in opening a channel to the Galaxy Garrison. 

“That’s where Keith is,” Shiro had told him, “And it’s the main military base in North America, plus where Sam, Matt, and I work.”

“How convenient,” Lotor had responded, to which Axca had jokingly smacked him. 

“Narti, please open a channel to the Galaxy Garrison’s strategy planning hall. No doubt they’ll be there with the giant alien warship in their sky.” 

Lotor watched as a holoscreen popped up and began to show an image of a room filled with people in uniforms sitting at a long table. 

“I say we fire at it with all we’ve got,” One of the officials said.

“Let’s send out the fighter jets,” Another suggested. 

“Let’s- holy shit!” The official pointed to Lotor. “The alien’s on the screen!” 

“Human Commanders,” Lotor said to the room of people. “I am Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire, heir to the throne, son of Empress Honerva and Emperor Zarkon.”

One of the officials, one with a missing eye, stood and addressed Lotor. “What do you want with Earth?” 

Lotor heard Ezor make a ‘tsk tsk tsk’ sound behind him. “No manners, these humans.” Lotor ignored her. 

“I believe you lost some men in space about one decapheobe ago?” Lotor asked.

“It was a pilot error.”

“It is in your best interest not to lie to me,” Lotor said. Upon seeing the panicked looked on the officials’ faces, he added, “That is not a threat, simply a word of advice. Because I have your humans.”

“I love a good dramatic entry,” Sam said, leading the humans into the room. 

“Shirogane? Holt?” The man with one eye exclaimed, mouth gaping in surprise. 

“Commander Iverson,” Sam greeted back, “We have returned from Kerberos with news of aliens.”

“Duh.” Zethrid said. Lotor affixed her with a glare that did not seem to affect her. 

“I have come to Earth to seek an alliance with your planet. As a show of my willingness, I have brought three of your lost humans, freed from my father’s arena.”

The man with one eye, Iverson, turned to a young man behind him. “Griffin. Go get Commander W. Tell him it’s urgent.”

Griffin saluted Iverson. “Yes, sir,” He said in a voice that Lotor found unsettling, though he wasn’t sure why. 

Iverson turned back to the screen. “What are your demands?” 

“I have only one demand,” Lotor said, ignoring Ezor’s snickering from behind him. He hoped that the Garrison officials couldn’t see her, lest his dignity be questioned. 

“Keith Kogane,” Lotor said after his several second long pause, to add effect. He watched as recognition spread across the officials’ faces. “Hand him over to me and I will cooperate with you. I will even be so kind as to help you incorporate your planet into the Empire if you chose to do so.”

Horrified looks spread across the officials’ faces. “K-Keith Kogane?” An official whispered to another. 

“Shirogane’s kid?” Another asked.

“That’s the one.” Lotor confirmed, beginning to grow tired of these humans’ incompetence. Sam, Shiro, and Matt hadn’t been nearly so irritating. Although, perhaps this was partially because they were traumatized from their abductions and forced-fighting experiences. 

“That’s going to a problem, Sir.” One of the officials whispered to Iverson. 

“Why is it a problem?” Lotor asked, ignoring the looks of surprise at his ability to hear such quiet chatter. 

“Because,” Iverson said, looking both nervous and pale, “Keith Kogane was expelled from the Galaxy Garrison cadet program almost a full year ago. No one is sure where is is now.”

Lotor harshly gripped the control panel, hoping to control his anger at the Galaxy Garrison’s actions. Shiro, however, did no such thing. 

“You fucking what?” He shouted at the officials on the screen. “I go up to space for one fucking year and you fucking expel him?”

After another few dobashes of Shiro’s angry ranting, Lotor began to realize why he was the Champion. Lotor had to admit, even he was a little intimidated by the display of rage. 

The yelling ended when the door to the Garrison command room opened and a frazzled looking man burst in. 

“Takashi!” The man yelled up at the screen, completely ignoring the fact that an alien prince had made contact with Earth. 

Shiro’s (Takashi’s? Why did this man have so many names?) anger melted from his face immediately after seeing the man. “Adam! Oh my god, I missed you so much! How have you been?”

“How have I been? Takashi, I’ve been fine. What on Earth happened to  _you?_ ”

Adam gestured to Shiro’s robotic arm and white hair, then to Lotor. 

“It’s... a long story.” Shiro replied, using his human arm to scratch the back of his neck. “I could tell you all about it over dinner tonight, if you want?”

After Adam confirmed his and Shiro’s dinner plans, Lotor thought it best to get back to the matter at hand. “As touching as this reunion is, I believe there is still a problem. As I understand it, you threw Keith Kogane into the desert to die.”

“He punched out my eye,” Iverson protested, as if Lotor cared. “The only reason he wasn’t expelled before then was because Shirogane kept making excuses for him.”

“Perhaps you are forgetting just how powerful the Empire is,” Lotor snarled, “You would do well to hold your tongue about matters such as this, lest I remove it as penance for casting my soulmate into the desert and leaving him for dead.”

“Woah there!” Adam exclaimed, “Keith’s fine. I’ve been in touch with him. No one needs to chop out anyone else’s tongue. The man’s already lost an eye. 

Lotor leaned closer to the holo-screen. “Bring me to Keith.”

“You’re going to have to land your ship first.”

“That can be arranged.” 

Lotor stepped out of his ship only to be nearly knocked over by Adam running past him and into the former champion’s arms.

“Takashi!” 

“Adam!”

Lotor righted his position and looked at the hugging couple. After Shiro and Adam were done with their unseemly (yet sweet) public display of affection, Adam scanned Lotor up and down. 

“So, you’re Keith’s soulmate?”

“I am indeed. And you are?”

“I’m Adam. I helped raise Keith.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lotor stuck out his hand for Adam to shake and was pleased when his offer was accepted without hesitation. He was startled when Adam proceeded to pull him into a hug. 

“If you’re Keith’s soulmate, you and I are family now.”

“Oh. How... lovely.”

Adam pulled away and scanned Lotor up and down again. He was squinting, scrutinizing Lotor’s every quality. “Did you go to college?”

“What is college?”

“Can you drive?”

“I can fly a ship.”

“Can you cook?”

“I don’t see how this is relevant-”

“Do you have a job?”

“I’m the prince of the Galra Empire.”

“What are your intentions with Keith?”

“At the moment, I wish to meet him.”

“Do you do your own laundry?”

“My generals and I take turns doing laundry, but I clean my own armor, if that counts.”

Adam squinted at him for another moment before smiling again. “Good enough. I’ll take you guys to see Keith.”

Adam turned and looked at the Garrison officials. “You all can’t come.”

“I’m afraid you’re not in charge here, W.” Iverson said, “You’ve already broken protocol during your outburst when Shirogane disappeared.”

“Well,  _ I’m afraid _ that Keith will literally kill you on sight for trespassing on his property, and then you’ll be missing more than just an eye.”

Lotor repressed a smile when the officials backed down. _‘I like this human,’_ he thought. 

The drive to Keith’s home was a few hours drive from the Garrison. Sam and Matt had decided to stay at the Garrison to catch them up on everything that had been going on. Lotor’s generals had also decided to stay behind to make sure none of the officials tried ‘anything funny,’ as Zethrid had put it. 

“Door’s unlocked, Adam!” Lotor heard from behind the door.

“How does he know it’s you?”

Adam shrugged. “No one else comes out here. He made me promise not to tell child services about this place until he was an adult. And now that he is an adult, I don’t really have any reason to. Plus, I don’t want to be arrested.”

This all made perfect sense to Lotor. 

The inside of the house was small and dark, but organized other than the large board of photos and red string. 

“What in the Empire is that?” Lotor asked.

“That’s Keith’s board about the lights and symbols in the cave,” Adam answered. “There’s this robotic lion under there that he’s been trying to figure out. When he realized his soulmark was written in the same language as what was on the cave walls, he was convinced his soulmate was an alien. He’s going to flip out when he realizes he was right.”

_“A robotic lion?”_ Lotor’s mind began going a mile a minute.  _ ‘Like in the legend of Voltron? Could it be true?’ _

He pushed the idea out of his head. It wasn’t important right now. He was meeting his soulmate, who he had been searching for for centuries. He felt so excited that he could practically feel himself floating on air. 

“Hey, Keith!” Adam called out. “Guess what?”

Keith walked out of a hallway toward the back of the main room. “Is it about the giant alien warship in the sk-” 

Keith’s eyes widened. Lotor took a moment to admire his soulmate. He was gorgeous, with dark hair accenting high cheekbones. 

“Shiro? And an alien?”

Shiro waved. “Hey, Keith.”

“You’re okay? I knew there wasn’t a pilot error! What happened?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later. For now, how have you been?” 

“I’ve been okay. Got kicked out of the Garrison, but other than th- wait. Who the hell are you?” 

Lotor pointed to himself. “Me?”

“No, the other giant white haired alien man standing in my house.”

_‘Feisty.’_ Lotor thought, but he ignored the snark in favor of introducing himself. “I am Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire. I am also your soulmate. It is truly a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Shiro on our way to Earth.”

Keith didn’t seem phased by the fact that he and Lotor were soulmates. 

_‘Well,’_ Lotor thought, _‘Adam did say that he had thought an alien was his soulmate for years. Maybe it isn’t much of a shock.’_

“You and Shiro know each other?”

“I broke him and the other humans out of my father’s arena.”

Keith looked impressed by this. “Thanks for that.”

Lotor suddenly wished that he had put more thought into what he was going to say once he and Keith met. 

“So,” Keith said at last, “There’s this giant robot lion under a cave. Wanna go check it out? It’s a good first date spot.”

“That sounds delightful.”


	10. Day Twelve: Naxzela

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lotor’s comb goes missing, he goes to borrow one. It doesn’t go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally written for yesterday (secrets) but I felt like it fit today’s prompt better.

Lotor ran his fingers through his hair, hoping to tame its unruliness but having no success.

“Quiznacking mice,” he grumbled, “Always stealing things. I should have eaten them when I had the chance.”

Lotor sighed and finally gave up trying to fix his hair without a comb. 

_ ‘Maybe I could borrow one?’  _ He thought, _ ‘But who has hair long enough to have a spare?’  _

Allura was out of the question. She wasn’t fond of Lotor and he did not wish to make her even less so by asking to borrow one of her possessions.

Coran would probably have a mustache comb, but Lotor didn’t want that anywhere near him. 

Shiro had had long hair for a day or two when he had first been found, but had gotten a haircut soon after and probably didn’t have a comb.

Keith was the obvious choice, but Lotor worried his infatuation with Keith would become rather apparent if he just walked up and asked to borrow a comb like some sort of uncouth animal.

But as he knew that fear was silly, and since his comb was still missing and his hair wasn’t getting any tamer, he decided to go ask Keith.

Lotor got no answer when he knocked on Keith’s door. 

_ ‘He must not be here right now,’  _ Lotor thought, _ ‘I’ll just pop in and brush through my hair, then be on my way. No one will even have to know.’ _

Lotor opened the door to a sight that alarmed him. Keith was on the floor, wrapped in a blanket, crying. 

“Keith?” Lotor asked, “Are you alright?”

Keith looked up at him. His eyes were red and puffy. His face was stained with tears. “Lotor? What the quiznack are you doing here?”

Lotor frowned. “I came to ask you if you had seen my comb. What are you doing?”

“This is my room.”

“No, I know why you’re here. My question is what are you doing?”

“I think you can see what I’m doing. Damn it,” Keith stood up and threw the blanket off himself, “I said I wouldn’t cry!”

Lotor stepped into Keith’s room and closed the door. “There’s no shame in showing your emotions.” 

“That’s easy for you to say! You don’t show any at all!” 

“That took me years of practice and punishment for messing up. I’m very glad that you went through no such thing.” Lotor thought back to his childhood, but quickly shoved away the unpleasant memories. 

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Lotor said, “What’s gotten you so upset?”

“At Naxzela,” Keith said.

“Naxzela? What about Naxzela?”

Keith said nothing for a long time. 

“I almost died,” Keith finally whispered, just loudly enough for Lotor to hear. “I would have if you hadn’t shown up when you did. I wasn’t sure if it would work to save them, but I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit there and let them die. The universe needs them.”

_‘The universe needs you, too. I need you, Keith.’_ Lotor thought, but didn’t say. He didn’t think it would be helpful to make this about himself, so he chose to say nothing.

“No one even knows, Lotor!” Keith yelled, slamming his fist onto his desk. The momentum of his fist made the tears fly from Keith’s eyes, staining the paper next to him. Lotor hoped they weren’t important. “And if they did, they wouldn’t care!”

“Keith,” Lotor tried, “Your team cares about you. I’m sure that if you told them, they would be devastated.”

“That’s why I can’t tell them! I don’t know which would be worse, them being upset or them not being upset!” 

“I see.”

“I’m just... I’m so sick of it!”

“Sick of what?”

“I’m so damn sick of being sad. And I’m sick of being angry. And I’m sick of being sick of things, and I’m sick of being in charge, and I’m sick of not being in charge, and I’m sick of being in love with someone as amazing as you when you could never feel that way about someone like me!”

_ ‘Feel like that about someone like him?’  _ Lotor wondered. _ ‘Does he mean he likes me? If he’s feeling bad about himself, it doesn’t matter right now.’ _

Keith was still for a moment before realizing what he had said. “I- I didn’t mean-”

“What did you mean ‘someone like you?’” Lotor asked, taking Keith’s hand in his own. “That’s all I care about right now. Are you thinking badly of yourself?”

Lotor didn’t understand how Keith could see himself in a negative light. He was the most incredible person Lotor had ever met, but he knew that self doubt cared not for one’s abilities. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a failure. I was a terrible Black paladin, a terrible Blade of Mamora, and a terrible friend. And you... you’re amazing, Lotor. You’re so elegant and smart and you always know what to say.”

“I don’t,” Lotor replied, “And I’m not. And you’re not any of the things you said, either.”

“It’s just... you’re everything I wish I was.”

“There are a lot of things I’ve done that I hope you never have to do. I am not the perfect man you think me to be.”

Lotor sat on Keith’s bed and patted the space beside him. “Sit?”

Keith obliged. Lotor began to speak again. “I understand what you’re going through. You feel like a failure, like you’ve let people down. But if there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that those who truly care about you will care about you regardless of your performance. Those who don’t never really cared, so they aren’t worth wasting your time on.”

“Are you talking about your generals?”

Lotor shook his head. “I’m talking about my father. I tried so hard to impress him, to prove to him that I could be a good son. I failed over and over again. I did terrible things for the sake of approval I would never receive. I could never succeed. It was an impossible task.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize. You weren’t at all responsible, nor was I. The problem was the person whose approval I was striving for.”

Lotor tentatively placed his arm around Keith’s shoulder, feeling pleased when Keith didn’t push it off. 

“You feel scared. Scared because of what happened at Naxela, yes, but also scared that it could happen again and you would be powerless to stop it. Scared that you would be able to stop it, but would lose your life in the process. Scared that no one would mourn or miss you when you were gone.”

“You’re right, but that doesn’t exactly help me feel better.”

“But you’re wrong, Keith. So many people would miss and mourn you. Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Allura, Coran, Matt. And me. I would miss you dearly.”

“You would miss me?”

“Of course I would,” Lotor said, “Because someone like me could  absolutely feel that way about someone like you.”

Lotor never did find his comb, but he didn’t mind. He found Keith, and that was even better.


	11. Day Fourteen: Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of Lotor’s shirts have gone missing, and he has no idea where they went. And why is Keith acting so strangely?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: One of my favorite Galra headcanons is that they don’t have toes. This one is (non-sexual) Omegaverse so skip it if that’s not your thing. Also, there’s a lot of blushing (and cringe-iness) in this chapter which I usually don’t do because I prefer other ways to show one is flustered, but it worked well for this one, so... enjoy!

Lotor let out a roar of frustration as he tossed another sock behind him. “Why do I even have toe-socks? I don’t have toes!”

It wasn’t as if Lotor had an abundance of clothing, just his armor and what he had picked up at the space mall last decaquintent, so the fact that all of his shirts had gone missing was deeply unnerving. 

“Maybe I could borrow something?” Lotor wondered aloud to himself, but that idea posed an entirely different problem. He was far taller and far broader than anyone else in the castle, even Shiro. 

Shiro seemed considerably shocked to see Lotor at his door (in a pajama shirt, no less.) He looked behind Lotor on both sides, perhaps wondering if someone had forced him to be there. 

“Good morning, black paladin Shiro.” Lotor greeted, hoping to make Shiro more comfortable and thus more likely to loan Lotor a shirt. 

“Oh, um,” Shiro said, “Hey, Lotor. What’s up?”

“I am experiencing a wardrobe problem and I was wondering if you could be of assistance.”

Shiro smiled as if Lotor had just said something humorous. When he spoke, it was with a trace of thwarted off laughter in his voice. “Are you sure I’m the one you want to ask? My husband says I’m a fashion disaster. Maybe Lance would be a better choice?” 

Lotor shook his head. “No, Lance is far too short and thin.”

Shiro looked taken aback. “What does that have to do with anything?” 

“Well, none of his clothes would fit me,” Lotor explained, wishing the black paladin would understand more easily. 

Shiro nodded after a moment. “Oh! You want to borrow some clothes?” 

“Yes. All of my shirts have gone missing.” 

“Missing?”

Lotor did nothing to confirm this, because he was staring to get tired of this conversation. 

“Sorry,” Shiro said, “But I’ve got, like, two shirts. One of them is in the wash and I’m wearing the other. But maybe ask Hunk? He’s not super tall, but he’s wide. It could be like a crop top.”

Lotor thanked Shiro for his help, even though Shiro had been most unhelpful, and went off to ponder what to do next. 

“Nice shirt,” Lance snickered when Lotor sat down at the table. “The Hawaiian print really brings out the despair your eyes.”

“It’s not mine,” Lotor snapped at him, “I had to borrow it since all of mine went missing for Sa knows what reason!”

Everyone at the table was quiet for a moment after Lotor’s outburst. 

“I apologize for the bitterness of my tone,” Lotor said after it became clear that everyone was a bit shaken.

“I was more concerned about the holes in the table,” Hunk squeaked out.

Lotor looked down at his hands, and surely enough, his nails were deeply embedded in the table. He pulled them out and moved a nearby bowl of food goo so it covered some of the holes. “Better?”

Hunk shrugged, “It’s not worse.”

“Why didn’t you ask me for a shirt?” Lance asked. “I have a polo that would make you look like you just got off the golf course. I can’t wear it because I don’t golf.”

“What is... golf?” Lotor asked. “And what is a polo?”

“A polo is a shirt type.” Hunk said. He didn’t explain what golf was, but Lotor didn’t care to ask again. “Why didn’t you ask Shiro?”

“I did,” Lotor said, “But he had no extras.”

Shiro shrugged. “I Marie Kondo-ed my closet and got rid of all the clothes that didn’t bring me joy.”

“It’s called organization,” Pidge interjected, “Marie Kondo didn’t invent getting rid of stuff you don’t like.”

“Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and declutter your room,” Keith said, “It’s like a trash floof den in there.”

“It  is  a trash floof den. They live there with me.” 

“Since it’s not mine, whose shirt is it?” Shiro asked, changing the subject away from the ‘trash floofs’ in an attempt to deescalate the impending conflict. “Did you end up asking Hunk like I suggested?”

“It’s Coran’s,” Lotor said. This statement was met with the disbelief of everyone at the table. “Apparently, he used to be quite... buff.”

“That checks out,” Lance said, “He showed me a picture of him and Alfor from 10,000 years ago, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he was, like, pretty hot.”

Lotor sighed, rubbing his temples to ward of the headache that often accompanied the blue paladin’s voice. “I’m just dumbfounded as to where the shirts could be.”

“You okay, Keith?” Hunk asked Keith, whose face had taken on a soft pink tinge. 

_ ‘Even so,’  _ Lotor thought,  _ ‘He looks beautiful. His hair is made of nebulas and night sky, his eyes spun from starlight.’ _

“You look kinda sick,” Hunk said, sounding awfully concerned. 

“I’m fine,” Keith said. He stood abruptly without finishing his breakfast goo, “I’m just tired. Thanks for the goo, Hunk.” 

Keith left the room before anyone else had the chance to ask him anything else.

“I do hope he’s alright,” Lotor said. 

Pidge gave a half suppressed laugh. “Oh, he’s alright, all right. He’s  _juuuuust fine_. ”

“What do you mean?” Shiro asked. 

“Let’s just say, I definitely know who took Lotor’s shirts. Keith’s been a little disho nest. Emphasis on nest.”

Looks of realization spread across the faces of those at the table, though Lotor still wasn’t sure what was going on. 

“I’m sorry,” Lotor said, “But I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“He’s nesting, you moron!”

Lotor ignored Pidge’s insult in favor of asking instead, “And that is...?”

Lance stood up and brushed imaginary crumbs off his clothes. “I feel like I shouldn’t be part of this conversation, so I’m going to leave.”

“That’s very mature of you,” Hunk said, “I should go, too. It’s not really my business.”

“Yeah,” Lance said, “And it’s super boring Omega stuff.” 

“I’ll stay to make sure Pidge doesn’t do anything lewd.” Shiro said, ignoring Pidge’s scoffing at his concern.

Lance and Hunk left the room, leaving Lotor alone with Shiro and Pidge.

“So what is it that you were saying?” Lotor asked, “After you insulted my intelligence?”

Pidge pulled a tablet from under the table.

“Pidge!” Shiro scolded, “The rule is no devices at meals unless it’s important.”

“I had it down where no one else could see it,” Pidge countered, “And it’s a dumb rule anyway.” They typed something into the tablet in their Earth language and turned it around so Lotor could read what was on the screen. 

On the screen were several graphs (all of which were written in Altean) displaying information about-

“Nesting,” Pidge said, “Is when an Omega falls in love with someone and decides, ‘Hmm. I should steal some of their stuff because it smells like them and arrange it into a circle as a way to tell them I like them.’”

Lotor nodded. “I see.”

“Back before humans were as evolved as we are now, a nest was one of the ways to show an Alpha that the Omega was capable of making a good home for their kids,” Pidge continued, “But then during the Omega rights movement, people realized that Omegas were good for more than just having kids and making homes, so most of the traditions like nesting stopped. The difference is that nesting is more of a biological thing instead of a sexist thing like other traditions that I won’t go into. Now Omegas mostly build nests for themselves, but if they trust you enough they might grant you access into their nest.”

Lotor nodded again. “That is very interesting. I’d love to talk more about that sometime. Earth is truly fascinating, and I don’t mean to gloss over the details of what you said, but If I’m understanding you correctly you’re saying that Keith... is in love with me?”

“Duh.” 

Lotor thought back to the days previous. He thought about how Keith had left the room when Lotor had asked where his shirts had gone. He thought about how Keith’s face had gone pink nearly every time Lotor had spoken to him recently. Lotor had thought it was a hybridization-caused pigmentation issue.

He thought about the whining sound Keith had made the day prior when Lotor bested him in a sparring session (a sound Lotor had to force himself not to read into. Surely Keith wasn’t interested in him. He probably meant nothing by it and didn’t realize how utterly needy and wanton that sound was in Galra society.) Lotor had thought he was reading into it and had felt guilty about it for hours, but if what Pidge was saying was true...

“Vrepit Sa.” Lotor said in shock, feeling considerably foolish. “This makes far more sense than my hybrid pigmentation theory.”

“Your what?”

Lotor waved his hand in dismissal of Pidge’s question. “Not important.”

“So yeah,” Pidge concluded, “That’s where your shirts went.”

“Maybe,” Shiro interjected, “We don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

Lotor finished looking at the charts and stood up. He walked over to the door. “Of course not. I will remain fully on the ground during my search for my shirts. Thank you both for your assistance.”

Shiro frowned. “That’s not what that-”

The door shut before he could finish his sentence. Lotor barely noticed as he strode through the castle, not stopping until he reached the door of the supposed shirt thief. 

Lotor rapped thrice upon the door. “Hello, Keith? I need to speak with you.” 

When Keith did not answer the door, Lotor knocked again. When this knocking elected no response, Lotor opened the door and walked into Keith’s chambers. Only after he did so did he realize that this was perhaps an invasion of privacy. 

The guilt that stemmed from this realization was immediately quashed by what Lotor saw. 

Laying upon Keith’s bed was a half asleep Keith surrounded by a circle of pillows, blankets, a few small stuffed animals, and all of Lotor’s missing shirts, along with clothing Lotor hadn’t realized he was missing. 

Lotor hadn’t realized he was walking forward until he tripped over a rouge sword and stumbled, barely managing to right himself to avoid crashing onto the floor. 

Keith was immediately jolted out of his mostly-asleep state, now alert and highly attentive. 

“Lotor?” Keith asked, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around one of Lotor’s previously missing shirts. Whether subconsciously or not, Lotor did not know. 

“Sorry,” Lotor said, picking up the sword and placing it on the nearby desk. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was simply looking for my missing clothing.” 

Lotor stripped off his borrowed shirt and replaced it with one of his own from the edge of the nest. “That is much better.” He paused for a moment to shamelessly enjoy Keith’s flustered body language (not to mention his  _sinfully_ adorable  face) before speaking again, “It seems that I have found them.”

Keith’s face turned a soft pink color as he stumbled over his words. “Lotor! I- um- yeah. Your clothes are here, but I didn’t take them. I mean, I did, but not on purpose. They were mixed in with mine when I was doing my laundry. Yeah! I was doing my laundry and I didn’t look in the washing machine before I tossed my clothes in there, and you must’ve just finished a load. My bad.”

Keith said this all very quickly, and had to take a moment after to catch his breath. Lotor took this time to go over Keith’s hastily made up take in his head. He decided (and he knew this was perhaps somewhat cruel of him,) to mess with Keith a moment longer. “Laundry, you say? And why did you not return my clothing to me after you realized your error?”

Keith frowned, eyebrows knitting together to come up with an excuse that fit with his original one. “I-um-”

Lotor sat at the edge of Keith’s bed, not touching the nest. He didn’t want to offend Keith. “Keith.” 

Keith stopped stammering and looked up at Lotor’s face. 

“Keith, I was just teasing you. I know that you took my clothes for your nest, and I don’t mind.”

Keith’s hands flew up to his face in an attempt to cover his ever-growing blush. “I’m sorry! You’re right, I took them for my nest. I just- I like you a lot and my heat’s coming up and I couldn’t control myself and I know, I know that doesn’t make it okay but you smell _so_ _ damn good  _ and I-”

Keith paused, “You don’t mind?”

Lotor shook his head. “I don’t mind. I’d rather you leave me at least one shirt so I don’t have to wear that monstrosity,” he gestured to the shirt he had borrowed from Coran, now laying abandoned next to the sword. “But I truly don’t mind your infatuation with me in the slightest.”

Keith took a moment to process this. Lotor could tell that his mind was still slightly addled with the promise of sleep that had been torn from his grasp only moments prior. “You’re fine with me taking your shirts for my nest because I’m ‘infatuated’ with you? Why would you be okay with that?” 

Lotor smiled. “Because, Keith, I am at least equally infatuated with you.”

Keith took his hands away from his face and gestured for Lotor to come closer. “Do you want to come into my nest?”

Lotor thought about what Pidge had said earlier about Omegas only allowing those whom they trust entrance into their nests. He smiled at the red paladin and began to climb into the circle of soft items. “I would love nothing more.”

Lotor wrapped Keith in his arms and held him tightly to his chest until Keith had fallen into a comfortable slumber. Only then did he give himself permission to close his own eyes and drift off next to him. 


	12. Day Fifteen: Generals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A breakup between Zethrid and Ezor threatens to tear the generals apart (or at least significantly reduce their productivity, and cause Lotor to die of annoyance.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a sequel to Day Four: Prisoner, so make sure to read that first if you haven’t.

“Well maybe if Zethrid wasn’t so brutish all the time,” Ezor snapped, “And actually stopped to think once in a while, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Maybe if Ezor took things seriously for once in her life, this wouldn’t be a problem.” Zethrid retorted. 

Lotor groaned and turned off the group intercoms. Earlier in the day he had tried to break up the arguments, but it had proven to be impossible. He opened a direct communication line to Keith. 

“Uuuuuuuugggghhhhh,” Keith groaned, alerting Lotor that Keith had opened the communication line at the same time. “Good lord.”

“I second that.” Lotor said, rubbing his temples in a failed attempt to ward off his headache. “Why must romance be so difficult?”

“You weren’t complaining about how difficult romance was last night.”

“That’s because Ezor and Zethrid weren’t involved last night.”

Ever since Zethrid and Ezor had broken up, it had been miserable for everyone else on the team. Lotor didn’t even remember why they had broken up to begin with, but he personally didn’t care so long as they stopped arguing all the time. 

“How long have they been broken up?” Lotor asked. 

“Three days.”

“Is that it? It feels like it’s been weeks.”

Lotor’s communicator beeped. He accepted the request. “Yes, Acxa?” 

“Can you two stop doing whatever you’re doing and help me deescalate this fight?”

Lotor opened back up the line to all his generals. “Ezor, Zethrid, what seems to be the problem?”

“Zethrid read the map wrong and got us all off course!”

“ _I_ got us all off course?” Zethrid’s voice demanded, “You’re the one who was busy being all jumpy and didn’t-”

“Generals!” Lotor scolded, “Please stop this nonsense. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. All that matters is that we get back on track. Keith’s former planet and  _ all  _ of its inhabitants have been freed, but there are still several planets that need our help.”

“Lotor’s right,” Acxa said, “Placing blame won’t help anybody. Zethrid, where are we if not on course?”

“We’re somewhere near Balmera 14GCW6, not too far from an asteroid field.”

“Thank you,” Lotor said, “Now we can get back on course.”

“Just for the record though,” Zethrid added, “It was Ezor’s fault.”

Ezor and Zethrid erupted into conflict once more, making Lotor sure that he would be written in medical journals as the first Altean Galra hybrid to have a stress induced ulcer. 

“Everyone shut up,” Keith ordered, “I’m getting a distress signal from somewhere North of us.”

“Lets go see who needs help and why,” Lotor suggested, “I think we could all use the air.”

Lotor stepped out of his ship and looked around at his surroundings. Sitting on the ground was an alien woman and a robot. A tall, purple man was standing beside them. 

“Hello,” Lotor greeted, “I am Prince Lotor.”

The man stuck out his hand for Lotor to shake. Lotor obliged. “I’m Rolo, this is Nyma, and the robot is Beezer.”

Keith jumped out of his ship before it had fully landed, landing next to Lotor gracefully. “I couldn’t spend one more second listening to Ezor and Zethrid bickering.”

Lotor looked back to Rolo. “What seems to be the problem?”

“It’s our ship,” Nyma said, standing and brushing herself off. “We got into a skirmish with a weblum and our ship’s all busted now.”

Lotor nodded. “I see. Well, Acxa and Narti are the best with that sort of thing. I can ask them to take a look.”

“That would be great,” Rolo said, “We owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Nonsense. We’re happy to be of assistance.”

Lotor swore Ezor was doing it just to annoy Zethrid, and it was working. Lotor tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and pretend she was flirting back with Nyma as a way to rebound, but he was pretty sure it was just a petty tactic to make Zethrid jealous. 

“Ya’ know,” Ezor flirted, “I’ve been all around the galaxy and I’ve never seen anyone as gorgeous as you.”

Nyma giggled. “Oh, stop it, you!”

When Lotor finally couldn’t take it anymore, he walked over to where Keith and Zethrid were talking with Rolo. Zethrid growled deep in her throat. “Quiznacking Ezor with her stupid face and stupid personality.”

“Sorry about her,” Keith apologized to Rolo, “She and Ezor just broke up and they’re being annoying about it.” 

“No worries,” Rolo said.

“Hey!” Zethrid protested, “I didn’t complain when you and Lotor kissed and then bent over backwards to pretend it didn’t happen!”

“As I recall,” Lotor said, sitting down beside his boyfriend and placing his hand on his thigh. “You were most irritated at our antics and locked us in a room together until he sorted things out.”

“Not the best thing to do to someone who used to be enslaved and constantly locked up in places,” Keith said, “But it worked itself out.”

Lotor opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t get a chance. Ezor popped up beside him cheerily. “Hey, Boss. Keith, Rolo.” She said. Lotor noticed how she was pointedly ignoring Zethrid, “I’m going to take Nyma on a quick ride to that moon over there, then we’ll be back. ‘Kay?”

Lotor frowned at her. “I’m not sure that’s the wisest decision-”

“Thanks!” Ezor chirped, racing back over to her ship where Nyma was waiting. 

Lotor began to shout to her that she  _absolutely did not have his permission to do that_ , but stopped when he felt Keith’s hand on his shoulder. “Let her have her fun. Maybe having a quickie in her ship will help settle her and Zethrid’s quarreling.”

“I’m right here,” Zethrid grumbled. 

Lotor ignored her. He stood up and walked over to Acxa and Narti. “How’s the repair coming along?”

_ It’s going well,  _ Narti telepathically told Lotor,  _ Although... it shouldn’t be.  _

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“The frownhopper line is all busted,” Acxa elaborated, “But the parts around it are fine. They shouldn’t be.”

Rolo jogged up beside Lotor and then into the ship, Beezer whirring beside him. “It’s perfect! Thanks, guys! We owe you!”

“It’s no trouble,” Acxa said, “But-”

“Sorry, gotta go!” Rolo called out. The ship took off into the sky, leaving Lotor and most of his generals alone. 

Lotor wasn’t worried when Ezor didn’t come back right away, but he grew increasingly more so as the Vargas passed. 

“She’s still not back?” Keith asked. 

Lotor shook his head. “No, but I’m sure she’ll be back any tick now.”

“I don’t think so,” Acxa chimed in, sounding worried. “I just checked her location... and her ship isn’t anywhere near her armor. I think we got conned.”

Lotor frowned. “I  _ told  _ her not to go with Nyma.”

Almost as on cue, Lotor’s helmet’s radio buzzed. 

“Uh, guys?” Ezor’s voice said, “I need some help.”

“What is it, General?” Lotor asked. “Has chasing after a harlot caught up with you?”

“Lotor!” Keith scolded. “Ezor, what’s wrong?”

“No, Lotor’s right. She stole my ship and my money. I need help. I’m sending my coordinates now.”

It wasn’t  too  hard to find Ezor and then catch up with Nyma and Rolo, thanks to Keith’s piloting skills. What was difficult was focusing on the mission with Zethrid giving Ezor a hard time about being tricked. The arguing was still going on when they were done liberating the planet (their original mission) and back in their main ship.

Acxa smacked her hand down onto the table. “I can’t get a single thing done around here!” She whined, “Zethrid spends all her time griping about Ezor, but it’s obvious they’re still into each other! She doesn’t even remember what they were fighting about!”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Keith sighed, “Ezor’s been making me listen to her cry over Zethrid all week. I’d do anything to get them back together, or at least get a moment of peace.”

_You know,_ Narti communicated,  _ I can think of something that never fails to get people together.  _

Lotor frowned. “Are you referring to-”

“Yep.” Acxa confirmed, “The closet.”

“I’m not sure this is the best idea,” Lotor said. Keith pouted, and Lotor, upon seeing this reaction, quickly changed his mind. “Fine. You all can do it. But I refuse to be a part of it, lest Zethrid shear off my hair as I sleep.”

Keith’s hand instinctively flew up to his hair as he, Acxa, and Narti began planning their heist. 

It was Keith’s job to lure Ezor, Narti’s to lure Zethrid, and Acxa’s to lock them in the closet. Lotor thought that the amount of planning was admirable, though wasted on such a petty task. He silently wished that his generals would put this much planning into  _ actual  _ missions, but he supposed he couldn’t complain. This plan  _ was  _ important if Lotor ever wanted another moment of silence. 

Everyone did their jobs perfectly, and before Lotor knew it, Ezor and Zethrid were locked inside the very same room Lotor and Keith had been locked in all those months ago.

“Let us out!” Zethrid demanded, “Or I’m going to smash that smirk right off your face!”

“Yeah! I don’t want to be stuck in here with Zethrid!”

“You two need to work on your relationship. Your bickering is making it impossible for our team to function,” Acxa said. 

“When I get out of here, our bickering will be the least of your problems! Let us out right now!”

“No,” Keith replied, “You two are going to stay in there until you work it out!”

“We worked it out!” Ezor chirped, walking hand in hand into the living room with Zethrid.

“I suppose we should say thank you,” Zethrid said, “But if you four ever lock us in a closet again, I will personally arrange your death ceremonies.”

“If you two ever wreck our team’s efficiency again,” Acxa said. “It won’t be _our_ death ceremonies you’ll be arranging.”

Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid erupted into playful banter as if the past few days hadn’t happened.

Lotor looked to Keith only to find he was already looking at him. “What is it?”

Keith shook his head. “Nothing. I just love you.”

Lotor leaned over and planted a kiss on his smallest general’s forehead. “I love you, too.” 


	13. Day Twenty-Two: Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor just wanted to find a book to read, but he supposed lecturing the paladins on Galra culture wasn’t too bad, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @lilflowerpot for letting me use some of their headcanons about Galra anatomy and culture for this fic. :D Also this features Kuron, not Shiro, but Lotor doesn’t know that. #notmyshiro

Lotor took a deep breath to calm himself. Coran had told him that the castle had a library, and that the library was on the left of this floor. What Coran hadn’t told him was how many doors were on this floor to begin with. 

Lotor had already wandered into a room with a kaltenecker, a mistake he did not wish to repeat.

_ ‘Maybe this is the library?’  _ He thought, opening the door. He was pleased to find that this was decidedly a library, but unpleased to see that the paladins were all gathered in the library, around a blazing fireplace.

Princess Allura was sitting next to the black paladin, Shiro. The green paladin, Pidge, typed on an old computer next to the yellow paladin, who Lotor was pretty sure was named Chunk. 

Lance was sitting upside down, swinging his feet back in forth in the air. Not coincidentally, no one was sitting next to him. 

“He’s just so damn stubborn.” Lance groaned. “It’s not like we wanted him to go and join a secret Galra army!”

“You know Keith.” Princess Allura sighed, “He always does what he feels is best. Never mind what others think.”

“I’m just surprised he took so long to come back,” Chunk said. “He won’t be back for the intel sharing thing until later tonight. I’m making this weird Altean recipe that seems similar to mac and cheese to celebrate. I hope he stays for dinner.”

Lotor was about to ask what ‘mac’ was when it occurred to him that the paladins didn’t know he was there. After a moment of consideration, he decided to see how long it took them to notice he was there without him saying anything as a way to test their observation skills.

“He probably won’t. He never joins in group activities unless it’s training.” Pidge said. “He just stands to the side with his arms crossed all emo and watches.” 

“He doesn’t listen to anybody but Shiro.” 

“Not even that, lately. Whenever I reprimand him during training he just ignores me,” Shiro complained, shaking his head. 

“Are you  _ really  _ that dense?” Lotor chimed in, no longer able to contain his internal irritation at the team’s ignorance.

Everyone in the room jumped up when Lotor spoke. 

The princess was the first to recover from the shock. “Excuse me?”

“Well,” Lotor explained, sauntering toward the group. “Either you’re terribly stupid or you’re purposefully judging Keith unfairly.”

“What do you mean?” The green Paladin piped up from their place on a couch. “Judging him unfairly? He straight up ignores Shiro.”

Lotor kept himself from rolling his eyes. “So at least you’re not being cruel, I suppose. Galra, and Keith by extent, will ignore you while being scolded as a sign of submission.”

“Submission?” Shiro asked, “But he’s ignoring me. He’s being disrespectful and sulky. Just like back at the Garrison.”

“Galra are different than humans, socially. I assume that the former red paladin, despite his mixed lineage, is the same. What you see as him being quote-unquote ‘sulky’ is him acknowledging your dominance and accepting the reprimand. By turning his back and looking away he’s telling you he does not wish to defy you. In human terms, it’s closer to an apology than a sulk. Not that you deserve the apology, based on your judgement of him.”

No one said anything for a long moment. 

“Oh.” Pidge eventually spoke, “What about the other things?”

Lotor stride over to and sat down next to them. “Other misconstrued behaviors? Well, I assume you’ve misunderstood many of the former paladin’s actions.”

“Why do you assume that?” Lance demanded, looking about as defensive as possible for someone sitting upside down. 

“Isn’t it obvious? There’s a reason he left your team and joined the Blade of Mamora.”

Everyone around Lotor grew outraged. 

“Hey!” Chunk said, “Keith left for the Blade to find his mom!”

“Don’t assume good know things about Keith that we do not!” The princess yelled at the same time.

“Keith left because he was being stubborn!” Lance yelled a moment later, the same time as Pidge. 

“He just wanted to be with other Galra!”

“I find it interesting that you all take such a defensive stance for being completely in the right. Although you are correct in saying I don’t know Keith as you do,” Lotor admitted, “I do what what it’s like to be a hybrid. To be forced into one box when you belong in two.”

“You’re not half human.” Shiro said.

Lotor mentally rubbed his temples, wishing that thinking about it would be enough to ward off his headache. How could the paladins of Voltron, the supposed saviors of the universe (a universe containing so many alien species,) know so little about the people in said universe.

He supposed that the Galra Empire hadn’t known much about hybrids either, but Lotor had, for some reason, expected Voltron to be less ignorant. Especially since they had a Galra hybrid within their own number. 

“You are aware that there are more than just Galra-Human hybrids, no?” Lotor said, “I myself am half Altean.”

“You’re  _ what? _ ” Princess Allura all but screamed, shooting up from her seat. 

“You’re Altean?” Pidge stopped typing.

“No way you’re Altean!” Lance stopped kicking his legs.

“What is it with you all and shouting things all at the same time?” Lotor grimaced, making a conscious effort not to cover his ears. “Yes, I am half Altean. My mother was Empress Honerva.”

“Your mother was Honerva? As in the scientist who experimented on Diabazol?” Allura asked.

“Indeed.”

Lotor could practically see the gears turning in Princess Allura’s head as she spoke. “I thought Coran and I were the only ones.”

_ ‘If any of you had ever willingly had a civil conversation with me,’ _ Lotor thought,  _ ‘You would know about all the Alteans.’ _

“If you’re Altean, why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Lance asked, obviously suspicious. 

_ ‘I would have told you,’ _ Lotor thought,  _ ‘Had you only asked.’ _

“It’s common knowledge,” Lotor responded instead, “I thought you knew. And I’d remind you to at least pretend to trust me, for the sake of this alliance.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hand?” Chunk said, “We were talking about Keith. Lotor said he did Galra stuff.”

“Yeah,” Pidge said, “What do you mean about ‘misconstrued behaviors?’”

“Well,” Lotor began again, “I believe you were groaning about Keith never participating in activities, but standing to the side. He does this not because he would rather not take part, but so he can have all of you in his sights to protect you from potential threats. For lack of better phrase, he is keeping look out.”

“So... he’s not being a jerk?” Lance asked, resuming his vexatious kicking. 

Lotor sighed. “Obviously not. You know, you really should learn more about different species if you wish to be a good advocate for all the universe.” 

“What about when he gets all emo and ignores us?” Lance asked, “Since we’re asking questions about the things we hate about Keith. He always make me feel like I’m not even worth the effort it takes to argue.”

Lotor sighed.  _‘I suppose I’m the expert on this.’_

“Similarly to your misunderstanding about Shiro, Keith isn’t disrespecting you. By ‘getting all emo’ as you put it, he is attempting to de-escalate the conflict.”

“But how would it de-escalate conflict? It’s kinda dismissive in human culture to cross his arms and turn his head all snoody.” Pidge said, computer keys clacking loudly. Lotor wondered if they were taking notes of what he was saying, or if they were simply multitasking. Or perhaps they weren’t paying attention at all, which would explain how they kept asking such redundant questions.

“Crossing his arms makes him smaller, and turning his head, thus exposing his throat, is a sign of trust and loyalty.” 

  
  


Lotor sat there at least another varga answering questions, some of which’s answers were almost too simple.

“Galra are excessively social creatures. Keith’s emotions bleed out in his every movement.” Lotor said, “It’s not his fault humans only pick up on the aggressive part.”

The paladins all looked to each other, looking for signs that they were somehow in the right. When they found none, everyone looked back to Lotor.

“So you’re saying that Keith is lonely and needs a hug?” Chunk asked. 

Lotor sighed. “That wasn’t what I was saying, but I suppose it’s not incorrect. Keith is terribly touch starved.”

“I feel awful,” Princess Allura said. “We know so little about the Galra. I didn’t think our ignorance would affect Keith, since he was raised on Earth. But I suppose I was mistaken.”

Shiro put his hand on the princess’s shoulder. “We didn’t know. We’ll read up on Galra body language and then it’ll be fine.”

Chunk pulled a tablet from his vest. “Keith’s here! Let’s go give that touch starved buddy a hug!”

The paladins ran off, leaving Lotor alone in the library. He smiled to himself. “Oh, beautiful Keith. I do hope he gets the love he deserves.”


	14. Day Twenty-Three: Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith comes back from a mission very tired, and needs to find somewhere comfy to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a prequel to this fic on day thirty: Mamora, but it can also be read on its own.

Keith was exhausted. He had been told the mission would take 24 hours, and it was supposed to, but there had been some trouble finding the base.

Keith did the math to figure out how long it had been since he had slept. It took longer than he’d like to admit, but since the mission had taken a so much longer than expected.... he hadn’t slept in 60 hours.

His mission partner was handling the lack of sleep far better than he was. He blamed it on his fully Galra heritage, and on the fact that he had consumed an unholy amount of Red Bull (which he was infamous for around the base.) That’s why Keith let him tell Kolivan how the mission had gone. Keith really didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of Kolivan, or any of the other Blades.

_‘I need some sleep,’_ Keith thought to himself when he was finally back at the base. He looked around the room at all the people. In one corner were some Blades talking about something in an alien language. It didn’t look very comfortable.

In the room was a couch where his partner was sitting now that he had finished talking with Kolivan, but it just didn’t look comfy enough.

Keith looked at Kolivan. _‘No,’_ he thought, _‘That man is not comfy.’_

Then Keith looked at the person Kolivan was talking to. Once Keith processed it was Lotor, his sleep-addled mind locked into him. _‘Yes,’_ he thought, _‘That is comfy.’_

Lotor was aware that Keith had been sent on a long mission where he hadn’t been able to sleep, so he hadn’t been surprised when Keith had been exhausted after he got back. He had just stood in the corner with a blank look on his face, scanning the room in search of something. Lotor wasn’t sure exactly what Keith was hoping to find, but he didn’t think much of it. Keith was a wonder, and Lotor couldn’t possibly expect to to understand him in such a short amount of time.

He was about to go over and make sure Keith was okay when Kolivan sat down across from him. “Lotor.”

Lotor looked at Kolivan. “Yes?”

Kolivan handed Lotor a large stack of papers. “Would you mind filing these for me? It’s a report of Keith’s and Ryral’s mission.”

Lotor nodded. “Of course. Do you mind me asking why it’s so large for such a short mission?”

“Ryral wrote it, not Keith.”

“Ah.” Lotor looked over at Keith to see that he was walking toward them.

He watched as Keith walked over to the table Lotor and Kolivan were sitting at and pushed the papers on his lap onto the ground, much to Lotor’s confusion.

“Keith, what in the universe are you doing?” Lotor asked, reaching down and beginning to pick up his papers.

Keith didn’t answer, choosing instead to push Lotor back into a sitting position and curling up in his lap.

Lotor frowned, his mind going a mile a minute. Would it be improper to pat his head? Should he wake him up and tell him to go sleep in his room?

He looked up at Kolivan (feeling mildly fearful, as he knew the elder did not like him) tentatively.

Kolivan shrugged. “I’ve been in the Blade of Mamora for 400 years. I’ve seen stranger things than an agent sleeping on his boyfriend’s lap.”

Lotor nodded. “Alright, good. Perhaps I should take him t- wait, did you say boyfriend? Keith is not my boyfriend, not yet at least. He was quite unresponsive toward my flirting, so I assumed him to be uninterested.”

Keith made the most adorable snoring sound from Lotor’s lap. “Hm.” He murmured, voice full of sleep, “Boyfriend.”

“Keith seems to think he is in his sleep deprived mind.” Kolivan said, seeming more amused than Lotor had ever seen him. He decided he didn’t like the look. “Perhaps you _should_ take him to bed. We don’t need delusions of love messing up a mission.”

Lotor nodded and stood, keeping Keith carefully wrapped in his arms. “I’ll take him to his bed, then.”

“I’ll find someone else to do the papers.”

Lotor carried Keith to his bed and laid him down. He pulled the blankets up to Keith’s chin like he wished his parents had done when he was little.

Lotor turned and began to walk away when he felt a hand on his own. “Lotor? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go do some training.”

“You’re not going to stay?” Keith asked, sounding hurt.

“This isn’t my room... but I suppose there’s no urgency for me to be anywhere... and none of your roommates are here... so if you’d like, I suppose I could stay.”

Keith smiled and began to pull Lotor into his bed. Lotor was shocked at how strong Keith was for having such a diminutive stature. He wondered if his human half made him stronger or weaker. He would have to ask later, but for now, he snuggled up beside Keith and watched as Keith got some much needed rest before softly drifting into a sleep of his own.


	15. Day Twenty-Four: First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance ropes Lotor into participating in a flirting contest.

“So who’s this guy you like?” Hunk asked Lance as they sat themselves on the couch opposite to where Lotor was sitting. He and Lance both ignored Lotor’s disgruntled sigh at being interrupted mid book.

“His name is Gnarlak,” Lance replied, “He’s from that planet we saved last week and we’ve been space Skyping since then. I want to ask him out with my fly moves and hot flying.”

“Do you have a plan for asking him out?”

“I’m going to say to him, ‘Are you an alien? Because that ass is out of this world.’ And since he’s from a space and therefore an alien, he’ll say yes. Then, bing bang boom, I’ll have an alien boyfriend.” 

“Really?” Lotor asked. Hunk and Lance turned to look at him. “Is that the best you can do? A lewd compliment about his rear?”

“I’d like to see you do better,” Lance protested, standing up and pointing accusatorily, “I’ve been practicing my technique for ages.”

Lotor rolled his eyes. “I’ve got far better things to do with my time than to compete in a flirting contest.”

“I never mentioned a flirting contest. But now that you did-”

“I was making fun of you.”

“Too late! The first one of us to make someone react wins the title of Suavest.”

“React positively,” Hunk added, “We don’t want any lawsuits against us because one of you found a loophole.”

Lance opened his mouth, about to comment on Hunk’s choice of words, but didn’t get a chance to speak because Hunk spoke again. “Or because someone made a joke about the word ‘loophole.’”

Lance closed his mouth. Lotor finally stood, putting a piece of paper into his book to hold his place. “Fine, I will participate as a way to get you to leave me alone. As long as I may chose the person with whom I ‘flirt.’ I don’t wish to flirt with anyone with whom I am not truly interested.”

“Nice!” Lance exclaimed. “Who’s it going to be? Allura? Me?”

That’s how Lance found himself crouching behind the Blue lion, watching as Lotor approached Keith. 

“He’s slicking his hair back?” Lance whispered, “Who does he think he is, Brad Pitt?”

“Shhh,” Hunk shushed him. “I wanna hear what happens.”

“Ah, Keith,” Lotor said, “Just where I thought you’d be.”

Keith looked up at Lotor. “You were looking for me?”

“Of course. For whom else would I be looking? You are by far the most interesting person on this ship, perhaps the whole Empire.”

Keith laughed. “You hit your head or something?”

“Lotor’s got to be cheating, right?” Lance asked. “I didn’t know Keith could laugh like that. He’s all... giggly?”

“My head is fine, Darling.” Lotor said, “Though not as fine as yours. You truly are extraordinary, both in personality and in beauty. It’s always a pleasure to be in your company.”

Keith didn’t answer, looking shocked at Lotor’s proclamation of admiration. 

Lotor leaned in closer. “Your eyes are like starlight, captivating as the night sky. I wish to never look away, and yet I fear that if I do not, I will become forever lost within them.”

“Woah,” Hunk whispered from beside Lance, “That was classy.”

“It was.... fine,” Lance replied.

“Keith certainly seems to think so.”

Lance looked back to Keith, whose face was considerably flushed. 

“Oh. Thanks.” 

“And that’s not even mentioning your incredible skill with a sword. Where did you learn to fight like that? Looking at your technique is like watching a limbowan dance in the wind.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“I assure you,” Lotor said, leaning in even closer, “It’s a compliment.”

“Lotor, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m flirting with you. Would you like me to stop?”

Keith shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t... misjudging things. I’m not great at reading emotions.”

“You are, just not human emotions. I don’t blame you. We hybrids tend to have a preference for one of our parents’ body language. Yours is incredibly Galran.”

“I didn’t know that. I guess there’s a lot I don’t know about Galra stuff.”

“I could help you learn, if you’d like. I hear that study dates are quite popular on Earth, and I’m never one to pass up a romantic venture to the castle’s library.”

“A- a date? Like, with you?”

Lotor placed his hand against the side of Keith’s face. Keith didn’t pull away. “Is this alright?”

Keith nodded and began to blush. Lotor chuckled at Keith’s flustered appearance. “You’re even more gorgeous when you’re embarrassed. I wonder what else I can do to make you blush?”

Keith reached up and kissed Lotor on the lips. “Why don’t you find out?”

Hunk and Lance looked at each other. “I hate to say it, bud, but I think you just lost.”

“I’m not even mad. I’ve got so many new pick up lines to try now. You wrote them down, right?”

Hunk held up a pad of paper that Lance hadn’t realized he was holding. “You know I did.”

Lance looked at the list and frowned. “These felt a lot cooler when Lotor was saying them.” 

“They’re waaaayyyy less classy now.”

“Maybe if I say them with a British accent?”

“Try one on me.”

“Ooooooh, youh eyes arh like stahlight, captivating as the night sky. I wish to nevah look away, and yet I feayah that if I do not, I will become lost within them.”

“That’s the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.”

“I was going for Welsh.”

“Well, that was bad for Welsh, too.” 

“I literally- wait. Where did Lotor and Keith go?”

Lance looked around and saw that Keith and Lotor had left, presumably together. “I think Lotor’s flirting worked too well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor and Keith leaving to make out in one of their rooms while everyone is distracted is my aesthetic. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽


	16. Day Twenty-Five: Injuries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tries to hide his injury. Lotor is having none of it.

“What a fight!” Lance cheered, “We totally beat their butts!”

“Heck yeah we did!” Hunk agreed. 

“And we had just enough healing pods,” Allura added, “Not too many and not too few.”

Keith smiled, hoping no one noticed the blood seeping from his side. “Great job out there, everyone! You guys should celebrate.”

“Yeah!” Pidge said, “Let’s get some nunvil up in this joint!”

Keith began to walk away while Allura was busy explaining to Pidge that they were far too young for nunvil, no matter what their IQ was. 

“Yo, team leader,” Lance shouted, following Keith out of the room. Keith silently cursed. Wasn’t Lance supposed to be the least observant? When had he gotten so good at calling Keith’s bluff? 

“Yeah, Lance? You need something?”

“Are you okay? You know you can join the party if you want.”

Keith nodded, leaning against the wall in a way he prayed looked casual and not like he had been grazed with a spear in the battle prior. “Yeah, I know. I’m just super tired, plus Lotor’s already in our room.”

Lance laughed. “Alright, lone wolf. Just know that you can join us if you want. Lotor too. Everyone will be happy to see you having fun.”

“Thanks, Lance. That means a lot. Maybe next time.”

Lance shrugged and walked back into the room. 

Keith was grateful for Lotor’s absence when he entered their room. Hopefully he’d be able to shower and get dressed again before Lotor got back. Then he could just sleep off the injury and no one would be the wiser. 

Unfortunately for Keith, Lotor was very efficient and was only out of the room for the time it took him to shower and put on underwear. 

“Sorry it took me so long,” Lotor called out. 

Keith grimaced. He crossed his fingers that he’d be able to put a shirt on before Lotor saw him before remembering that their room was small, and Lotor was standing a meter from him. 

“I decided to get some of Hunk’s Earth cookies for us to eat, but he had locked them up since I kept taking them,” Lotor laughed as he locked their door, “It took me ages to be able to cut my sword through the lock. He will not be pleased with me, but-” 

Lotor trailed off when he finally looked at Keith. “Keith Akira Yorak Kogane!” Lotor scolded. “What in the universe happened to you? Why aren’t you in a healing pod?”

Keith groaned. “Lotor, I’m fine.”

“Is that why you’re bleeding all over our sheets?”

Keith looked down. He was, sure enough, bleeding on the sheets. He stood up and walked over to Lotor. “I can walk okay.”

“You’re hobbling,” Lotor observed, “You need a healing pod.”

“No, for the last time, I’m fine.”

Lotor rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “If you’re going to be stubborn, then I will patch you up. I’ll start with the lesser cuts and scrapes-”

Lotor picked Keith up (sometimes Keith loved how much smaller he was than Lotor and how Lotor could pick him up and toss him around. This was not one of those times.) and placed him back onto their bed. “Then work my way to the largest one, since that will be the most painful for you when I fix it.”

“I’m fine,” Keith insisted, but much to his irritation, Lotor still didn’t seem to believe him. 

Keith felt Lotor’s eyes boring into him as he bandaged his wounds. “How did you get hurt?”

“During the battle earlier. Some jerk threw a spear at a villager and I pushed her out of the way.”

“That was very brave of you,” Lotor sighed, “But I’ve still got a right to be upset, you know. The love of my life just risked his life with no regard for his own safety.”

Keith glared at him. “I didn’t have a choice, Lotor. You would’ve done the same thing.”

Lotor ignored him, choosing to focus on the injuries on Keith’s arm. “And to make it worse, you didn’t even ask for a healing pod. You didn’t even tell anyone.”

“There were other people who needed a healing pod more than me. Hell, this is coming from the guy who dislocated both his arms without flinching! Who are you to criticize my- ow!”

“Sorry if it stings,” Lotor said, patting rubbing alcohol around a cut. “At least this one won’t need stitches like the one on your side.”

“Thanks,” Keith grumbled under his breath. “It’s nice of you to fix me up.”

“Of course,” Lotor said, placing a kiss on Keith’s forehead before moving to work on Keith’s side. He took a deep breath breath. “Keith, my love, it’s not that you risked your life. I know you have to risk your life often since you’re a paladin, and it would be rather hypocritical for me to be upset about that given all the danger I put myself in. I’m upset that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me you were hurt.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Keith said. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Keith, I am your boyfriend. I  want  to worry about you. Take a deep breath.”

Keith did as he was told. A moment later, he was grateful for it, because he nearly yelled when Lotor started on the stitches. 

“How is it that you can withstand a spear to the stomach but can’t handle a tiny needle? You are quite the mystery.”

“I’m handing it fine,” Keith pouted, “I was just surprised.”

“Whatever you say, Love. Luckily,” Lotor said, “The wound only needs three stitches and isn’t infected. It probably would have been soon, though, so it’s good I discovered them. And... that’s the last stitch.”

“Thanks, Lotor.”

“Of course. Hopefully this next bit won’t hurt, but either way, you deserve it.”

“Rude. Wait, what is-” Keith’s sentence was cut off when Lotor tackled him against the bed and began assaulting him with kisses. “Ack! Lotor!”

“I was so worried about you!” Lotor scolded, positioning himself so Keith was straddled beneath him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

“I’m fine, Lotor,” Keith insisted. “But you’re jostling my stitches.”

Lotor moved so he wasn’t touching the stitches, then pressed his lips against Keith’s. When he finally ended the kiss a moment later, he gazed into Keith’s eyes. “I’m just glad you’re alright. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”


	17. Day Twenty-Six: Power Couple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has to negotiate peace with Earth... without Lotor.

Arriving back on Earth had been an ordeal. Lotor hadn’t been able to be there, much to Keith’s disappointment. He had assured Keith that he would be there for meeting the people of Earth, he would just be a few days later than planned due to a particularly difficult Imperial colony. 

Keith tried not to let his sour mood affect their goal of peaceful relations with Earth. 

“It shouldn’t be difficult,” Lotor told him, “You all are, after all, from Earth. Surely they’ll hear you out.”

Keith laughed at that. “Lotor, Earthlings hate each other, remember?”

“I do remember you saying something about slavery and the American police system. But maybe things have gotten better since you’ve last been on Earth.”

Keith shook his head, smiling fondly at Lotor’s image. “When did you become such an optimist?”

“I’ve had a few thousand years to work on it. I need to go, Darling. I wish I could be there with you. I know how hard it must be for you to have to lead Voltron all on your own.”

“Yeah, because you’re not leading an Empire or anything.”

“I’m not leading it alone. I have my Empress to help me out.” Lotor winked, then added, “And several advisors.”

“I mean,” Keith said, “I have Shiro and Lance.”

“Yet another point against you,” Lotor responded. 

“Just talking to you helped my nerves. Thanks, Lotor.”

“Good luck, my love.”

Watching Shiro and Adam reunite was incredibly sweet. It almost made Keith forget how sad he was that Lotor wasn’t there, but ultimately just made him miss the Emperor more than ever. Then he had to put up with the asshole Garrison officials interrogating everyone, making sure no one had been cloned (what an awkward conversation that had been.) 

Then came the inevitable conversation about ‘how on Earth can we trust Lotor? He’s Galra and obviously all Galra are as bad as the ones you just told us about! That’s how it works, right?’

“And this ‘Emperor Lotor’,” Iverson asked, “Is trustworthy?”

“I sure hope so,” Lance said, elbowing Keith in a way Keith very much did not appreciate. 

“Emperor Lotor has helped us rebuild a peaceful democracy,” Shiro explained.

“But how do we know?” Iverson asked, meaning ‘how does the Garrison know’ or more specifically, ‘how do  _ I  _ know?’ 

Keith rolled his eyes. He had been tired of this question since the beginning. The only thing that had changed since then was his answer. 

At first, it had been ‘We can’t,’ meaning that Lotor was felt to be untrustworthy. Then, it had been ‘We don’t,’ meaning that Keith wasn’t sure how to know whether Lotor was trustworthy or not. This was followed by ‘We have to,’ meaning that they probably shouldn’t, but had to for the sake of the Voltron coalition, then ‘Because I do,’ meaning that everyone should just shut and and respect Keith’s decisions. After that it was ‘Because he’s earned it,’ meaning that Lotor had proven himself to be worthy time after time and it was insulting that there were still those who found him to be untrustworthy. But Keith’s current answer was by far his favorite; 

“Because he’s my husband, jackass.” Keith said, glad to hear the gasps from the Garrison officials at his declaration. 

“Yeah!” Lance said, “They’re a power couple! Black paladin/Blade of Mamora and hot Galra king!”

“Please sit down, Lance.” Allura requested. 

“You and Emperor Lotor are married?” Ryan Kinkade asked from the side of the room. 

“Not to be gross, but honestly, nice pull, sir.” James Griffin said from beside him.

“Thanks?” Keith responded, “Yes, I am technically the Empress. But what’s important now is that-”

“How does it feel knowing the kid you kicked out is the black paladin? And the Empress, and a Blade of Mamora?” Lance asked, kicking his feet up onto the table. “And how does does it feel knowing that Pidge snuck right by your noses with only one person on the inside helping them?”

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Adam blurted out. “They’re a paladin and whoever helped them find the Holts and Takashi shouldn’t be prosecuted for breaking the law by helping them. Let’s move on!”

“And how oh how does it feel knowing that I, the kid you called a failure and constantly compared to kid number one is said former kid’s right hand man now?”

“Doesn’t feel great,” James said despite the glares from officials, “I’ve grown a lot as a person and I’m still terrified.”

“You don’t have to be te-” Keith started.

“You should be,” Lance interrupted, “Keith‘s gonna have you executed!”

“I absolutely am not!” Keith said, slapping his hand over Lance’s mouth. 

“You could if you wanted to, though.” Pidge said.

“That’s not important right now,” Allura said, “Let’s get back to the matter at hand.”

“Exiled, then?”

“I’m not punishing anyone in any way.”

“What about Lotor?” Lance asked as soon as Keith took his hand of his mouth, “In a kinky way.”

Keith immediately regretted removing his hand. “What Lotor and I do with each other in our bedroom is absolutely none of anyone here’s business.”

“So when will we be meeting this supposedly trustworthy Emperor?” Iverson asked. 

Keith was glad for the subject change, and wondered if he still had Iverson’s eye somewhere. Maybe he could give it back to him as a show of their alliance. “He says he’ll be here in a few days. He had to deal with this colony wanting to bring back the old ways from when Zarkon was in charge.” 

“Yikes,” Nadia Rizavi unhelpfully chimed in.

“But he’s solved the problem by reminding them that they have easily accessible healthcare now and they don’t have to live in fear of Zarkon anymore. He should be here the day after tomorrow.”

Lotor arrived precisely on schedule. Keith forced himself to be professional and not lunge into his arms. Lotor had no such concerns and began running toward Keith as soon as he saw him. 

Keith buried his face in Lotor’s shoulder. “How was the colony?”

“Not to sound dramatic, but it was suboptimal. How’s Earth?”

“Suboptimal.”

“He’s way hotter than I thought he’d be,” Keith heard Nadia Rizavi whisper to James Griffin, “Here I was thinking Keith was a furry.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t marry an Emperor for the sake of power just because he looked like a cat?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“That makes one of us.”

Keith tuned out the whispered debate about what constituted a furry and breathed in the scent of Lotor’s hair. 

“I missed you, Lotor.”

“I missed you too, my love.”


	18. Day Thirty: Mamora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor joins the Blade of Mamora, but Kolivan feels as if he has ulterior motives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: This fic is a prequel to Day 23: Trust, in which we see Lotor during the beginning of his alliance with the Blade of Mamora through Kolivan's eyes.

Kolivan didn’t trust this new Blade. He didn’t like how he had passed the trials of Mamora so quickly, he didn’t like how he was the son of Zarkon, and he certainly didn’t like the way he looked at Keith. 

Kolivan had been friends with Krolia long before she had fallen in love with that human. They had grown up together, went on their first mission together, and had planned to lead the Blade of Mamora together once they were old enough. 

That plan had gone out the window when Krolia had found the blue lion on Earth and chose to stay there to raise a kit (not that she had told Kolivan what was happening.) 

Krolia had come back to the Blade far earlier than expected, down a knife and refusing to talk about what happened on Earth. He had sent her on a mission and they hadn’t spoken much since. 

Then Keith had shown up with Krolia’s blade. Kolivan felt livid that this paladin had dared steal Krolia’s blade, and then lie about it.

Image his surprise when he found out that the paladin- Keith- Krolia’s kit- hadn’t been lying at all. 

_ ‘So that’s what happened on Earth,’  _ Kolivan thought,  _ ‘Why didn’t she tell me?’ _

Kolivan hadn’t told Keith about his mother, choosing to feign ignorance lest he show weakness. Keith certainly didn’t seem to believe Kolivan was as unknowing as he claimed. 

_ ‘Good,’ _ Kolivan thought,  _ ‘Gullibility isn’t good for Blades.’ _

And now Prince Lotor had joined, much to Kolivan’s chagrin. 

“You are not a prince here,” Kolivan had told Lotor that first night, after he had passed the trials. “Your title will not grant you any special treatment.”

“I didn’t expect it to,” Lotor had responded, “But I passed your trials of knowledge or death. Surely I deserve some knowledge.”

“A good soldier knows that one does not always receive what he deserves.”

Lotor grinned in a way that Kolivan decided he did not care for. “Well, I think you’ll find that I am not a good soldier.”

Kolivan did not trust Lotor. He grew to trust him even less when Lotor began following around Krolia’s kit like a cat would a mouse. 

Kolivan wasn’t sure why Lotor had taken such an interest in Keith in particular, but it couldn’t possibly be a good thing. Perhaps Lotor was interested in him because he used to be a paladin and hoped to use him for political gain. 

Kolivan felt a petty sort of smugness, schadenfreude, if you will, when Keith was entirely uninterested in the former prince.

“Keith,” Lotor called out, “Would you perhaps like to get some dinner later? Just the two of us?” 

Kolivan watched as Keith’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Why would I want to do that?”

Lotor seemed dumbfounded by the response. “A simple no would have sufficed.”

Keith looked even more confused by this. “I have some protein bars if you want them. I was saving them, but if you’re hungry...” 

“I’m good, but thank you.”

Keith shrugged and walked away.

Kolivan felt just as confused as Lotor looked, but at something different entirely. What game was Lotor playing? 

After that, Kolivan found himself feeling oddly protected of Krolia’s kit. He wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t as if Krolia cared about him. Maybe that in itself was why, because Kolivan knew that Keith had no parental figure to guide him. 

Kolivan shook his head, mentally scolding himself. This was a war, and in war there was no place for foolish sentiment. 

He told himself that he only cared because he distrusted Lotor, but he knew he was lying. Despite his best efforts, Kolivan had grown fond of Keith. 

Because of this, Kolivan decided to approach Lotor. No one noticed Kolivan enter the room. They were all trained to notice tiny details, but he had been training to be unnoticeable for longer. He walked over to where Keith and Lotor were chatting. 

“I should very much like to learn more about you,” Lotor said, leaning in closer to Keith, “We have a lot in common.”

The corner of Keith’s mouth twitched up in a way that showed he was repressing a smile. “A lot in common?”

“Indeed.”

“That’s-”

“Lotor,” Kolivan said, feeling disappointed when Lotor appeared unfazed by his sudden appearance. 

“Kolivan,” Lotor responded, looking up from Keith, “Do you need something from me?”

“I require your presence.”

“For a mission?”

“You would do well to remember that this is a  secret  organization before you ask me about mission details in plain sight.”

Lotor gestured to the few Blades gathered in the room. “Everyone here is a Blade. Do you not trust your own men and women enough to disclose mission details in front of them?”

“Oh, he is so dead,” Kolivan heard an eavesdropping Blade whisper. 

“It’s fine,” Keith told Lotor, although he too looked disappointed at the interruption, “We can talk more later.”

Lotor scanned Keith’s face for a moment. “If you’re sure.” 

Lotor followed Kolivan into a spare room. “This... is not a suitable room for a mission briefing.” Lotor said, poking a sheet covered table with his foot.

“A keen observation,” Kolivan replied. “That is because this is an empty banquet hall.”

“Not good for banquet then, either. Why have you brought me here?”

Kolivan shut the door of the banquet hall, saying nothing. 

“That’s a bad sign,” Lotor said. “Quite ominous. I applaud your knack for dramatic effect.” 

Kolivan glared at Lotor, not appreciating the young blade’s blatant disrespect. Unless, of course, Lotor was serious about his admiration for Kolivan’s dramatic flare, which was arguably worse.

“You and I need to have a talk.”

“About....?”

“Your troubling actions. You’ve been chasing Keith around like a yelmor would a faunatonium spring.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Lotor said, his tone gaining an air of frustration. 

“You’re not a very good lier,” Kolivan responded. 

“Really? I’ve only had 10,000 years to practice.”

“Tell me, Prince Lotor, what are your intentions with Keith?”

Lotor looked taken aback by the question. “My- intentions with Keith? Why would you care about-”

“Answer me,” Kolivan demanded. 

Lotor righted his posture back into one of regality. “I believe I’ve made my intentions quite clear.”

Kolivan snarled under his breath. He hoped he wasn’t giving away his obvious familial infatuation with Krolia’s kit. It would do poorly for information about his personal life to bleed into his duties as leader of Mamora. And yet, Kolivan found himself not caring. If Krolia couldn’t be there for her kit, Kolivan would be. 

“Keith is under my command, and I refuse to let anything happen to him. I will not let you brainwash him into joining the Empire. What I mean is-” Kolivan took a step forward. “If you do anything to hurt Keith, I will-”

“You obviously misunderstand,” Lotor interrupted, much to Kolivan’s chagrin, “Although I do wonder what Keith did to make you care so much, I’m not surprised. He’s quite charming.”

Kolivan remained stoic, still waiting for an answer. 

“However, your problem is that you assume I’m interested in Keith as an ally for the war. You are entirely mistaken.”

Kolivan was glad for the years of facial training, or else he may have given away his surprise

Lotor leaned in closer, but not close enough for Kolivan to injure him without lunging (not that Kolivan would want to injure him,) “I do not want Keith as a mere ally,” Lotor cooed, “I want him as both an ally  _ and  _ a lover.”

Kolivan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Lotor drew himself back to his full height. “I am not the evil mastermind you think me to be. You need not worry about what devious subterfuge I have in the works. Even if I did, and I say this with as much respect as possible, you certainly wouldn’t be able to decipher them.”

Kolivan blamed it on his surprise that he wasn’t able to think of an appropriate response (perhaps some sort of punishment for Lotor disrespecting his superior like that, or at least a reprimand.) He only stood there as Lotor began to leave the room.

“I will not do anything to him with out his wholehearted and desperate consent. And when he gives it to me,” Lotor said as he looked back to Kolivan with a mischievous glint in his eye, “I promise to make him scream.”

Kolivan stood alone in the banquet hall for a few moments before beginning to walk back toward his quarters. 

“Kids these days.”


	19. Day Thirty-One: Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor has had many homes throughout his life. Keith is by far his favorite.

For Lotor, home was always a place of fear, sadness, and pain. 

Lotor had never known his mother. He did know that while the witch lived within her former body, they were not the same woman. 

His mother wouldn’t have ignored him until he was needed for experimenting on.

His father was never around, always too busy with running his empire to busy himself with pointless matters such as his own son. 

And so, Lotor had been raised by his governess. She wasn’t... the kindest woman, to say the least. But she trained Lotor to be an intelligent and disciplined young man. She taught him to care about his subjects, and she taught him about the history of the Empire. 

Lotor was sure that she was, in her own odd sort of way, fond of him.

When Lotor was put in charge of his own colony, he was ecstatic. His own planet! He swore to himself that he would run it well alongside their current ruler. 

He was so proud when he told his father about how successful he had been at taking the resources the planet could supply while working with its inhabitants. 

He was devastated when it wasn’t enough to please his father, and angry when the planet was destroyed for the sole reason of punishing him, with no regard for those on the planet.

_ Planets are for conquering,  _ Zarkon had scolded,  _ your subjects are for serving the Empire.  _

Lotor blamed himself for the planet’s death for a long time. 

For a while after his banishment, home was the Altean colony. He had spent centuries searching for remaining Alteans, and was so happy to have found them. But staying there would endanger them, and he would be damned if he was at fault for any other innocent people’s deaths. 

Then, his home was with the ragtag team of half Galra women he had found around the galaxy. Narti, Ezor, Acxa, and Zethrid were his best (read: only) friends and confidants. They understood him like no one else ever had. He trusted them. When he was with them, he finally had felt safe and loved.

Even still, when he was declared an enemy of the Empire, his generals turned on him. He didn’t hold this against them, but he did miss them terribly.

When he joined Voltron, he was given about as warm a welcome as he expected. A cell in the castle’s dungeon with glass walls and a security camera. 

Despite Lotor’s cooperation, the paladins refused to trust him. It was frustrating. He had given them target after target, and they still handed him over to Zarkon in exchange for the Green Paladin’s father.

They said he only wanted them not to hand him over so he could ‘save his own skin.’ Upon hearing this, Lotor scoffed internally. Of course he wanted to stay alive. The green paladin acted as if he had made a ridiculous request.

He had warned them that Zarkon would double cross them, but of course they didn’t believe him. (The fact that they trusted Zarkon would keep his word, but didn’t believe Lotor would, was quite frankly, disturbing.) 

Lotor won the fight with Zarkon. He killed his own father. He knew the Empire wouldn’t mind (most of the empire, anyway,) patricide nearly as much as they cared he was a hybrid. Under his father’s rule, non-Galra blood was considered weak. But Lotor was determined to change that once he became Emperor. 

It was upsetting to find out that the paladins didn’t want him to be Emperor. After all he had done to help them, they still didn’t trust him. He tried to tell them that all the other options for emperor were far worse than him (and that he  _ actually  _ had a plan for bettering the galaxy.) but they wouldn’t listen. 

To Lotor’s relief, the Champion (who went by Shiro now, and was a lot less violent than Lotor had assumed he would be based on the rumors he had heard,) (but a lot more identity issues than Lotor had possibly imagined. The whole way to the Kral Zera he talked about how he didn’t feel like himself,) took his side. 

When a small Blade of Mamora agent tackled Lotor to the ground, Lotor was offended that anyone dared attack him. When he realized  _ why  _ he had been tackled to the ground, he was grateful to the small blade agent. 

The Blade later identified himself as Keith, the former red and black paladin. Just like Lotor, he was a hybrid, and just like Lotor, he had no real home.

“Maybe,” Lotor had said to him, “We could make a new home together.”

Now, years later, home is bloody knuckles and forehead kisses. Porcelain skin and ebony hair. Play fighting with swords and knives turned into violent make-out sessions. The most adorable ears (human ears, despite what the princess said, are adorable,) and the softest lips.

For Lotor, home is Keith. 


	20. Bonus: Day Twenty: Little Blade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art from my two favorite scenes from Little Blade

My favorite scene (from chapter 10):

and my second favorite scene (from chapter eleven): 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am,,, not the best artist,,, but I try,,,


End file.
